The Road Not Taken
by BrownB
Summary: What if the night of Halloween 1981 Sirius Black didn't go after Peter? What if Fudge doesn't believe Sirius should be Harry's guardian? What if Peter was faced with Azkaban, instead?
1. Prologue- One Choice

The Road Not Taken  
By: Bethany  
Rated: PG  
Prologue: One Choice

There was a strange silence, though many others would have sworn the sounds of screams, breaking wood and distance sirens filled the air. A cold breeze swept up the road, encircling the trees and moving swiftly between houses, cars and street lamps. It rushed through the yard that had once been filled with lilies of every color and size, into the smoldering ashes of a recent two story cottage with pale yellow trim and a wrap around front porch. In response the flames grew higher, melting and destroying every piece of wood, plastic and metal within it's reach. Every memory, every toy, everything...

A man stood next to the destruction. Observed from afar, there was nothing characteristically different about this man than any other. Tall, broad shouldered, short hair, a trim cut goatee and piercing, brilliant blue eyes. The kind that most people seen first, when faced with this man. Next to him, dropped haphazardly on the ground, lay a giant black motorbike, forgotten. The silence stretched.

And then, as if stepping out of a trace, the man rushed forward, heedless of the burning wreckage that he plowed through. He upturned smashed pieces of wall, pictures and furniture until he came to a sudden halt. There, laying face down, with his arm twisted in a hurtful looking position, lay a man. His messy black hair was filled with dust and dirt, his clothes torn. In his hand he still clutched a long wooden stick. Sirius Black stepped forward, his mind screaming denial. Under his feet was the soft crunch of breaking glass, but in the silence that had engulfed Sirius' mind, it sounded as loud as a cannon. He jumped back, bending down to kneel at the man's side and picked up the round rimmed glasses. "_Reparo_." The whispered instructions caused a faint light to emit from the wand Sirius held, and the glass jumped back together with the illusion that nothing was amiss.

Sirius again drew his attention to the man. With a shaking hand, he touched the man on the shoulder. "Prongs?" His voice was a soft murmur, deep with emotion that threatened to make it crack. "James?" he repeated, louder this time. With an angry surge of strength, he turned the man over. "Damn it, James, you can't be..." he hissed. But there it was, before him. Open eyed and lifeless, James Potter. A sob rose up in Sirius' throat and he coughed violently, vomit rising up to burn his throat and spill into his mouth. He swallowed it, and a tear slipped down his face.

Leaving the body laying, he stood up, though his gravity seemed to have left him, he stumbled through the wreckage, burning his hand on a piece of hot metal and ignoring it. Towards the back of the house, where the back door to the quaint house had once stood, lay another body. This one that of a woman's. Sirius rushed over, falling over the remains of a table and stumbling back to his feet. "Lily?" he called, falling to his knees next to the woman. Like her husband, she also laid on her stomach, deep red hair fanning out around her. Sirius grabbed her shoulders, turning her over.

Large, horrified green eyes stared back at him and Sirius nearly did throw up. Knowing it was fruitless, he shook her slightly. "Lily? Lily, please... James is... and... Oh God," His body shook as another sob rose in his chest. "No. No. NO! Please..."

Gently he raised Lily's body and carried her, sobbing and half stumbling, to the side of James where he lay her. Mr. and Mrs. James Potter. His best friend and his wife. Dead. Sirius started to weep, but a strange hatred had grown in his chest at the sight of James and Lily's bodies. Peter. Peter had done this. Betrayed... he was the spy... how could he, Sirius, had been so stupid? Of course Peter was the traitor. He had always been so sneaky, staying close to wizards bigger than himself in order to stay safe. And of course he would go to Voldemort, thinking he was stronger than James and Sirius now.

Still clutching the black rimmed, round glasses in his hand, Sirius started to walk away. They had a child, a year old. But Sirius couldn't search for him. He knew that if he seen Harry's body, crumbled and... and so innocent, dead, he would loose it. Completely. And he had to find Peter.

Had to make him pay for betraying them.

With James' glasses clutched in one hand and his wand in another, Sirius started out of the wreckage and towards his motorbike. He would find Peter, and kill him with his bare hands. Sirius never thought himself capable of killing, until tonight. When he seen the eyes of James and Lily, horrified and dead. Then he knew without the shadow of a doubt that he had it in him to kill and there was only one person who would be on the receiving end of that rage.

And then, out of the ringing silence that had engulfed Sirius' world, something penetrated. Through the crumbling wood and burning fire around him, through the hatred in his heart, came the small cry of a baby. And it grew louder until Sirius stopped, turning and squinting back at the rubble. Again and again, wave after wave of terrified crying and Sirius' heart nearly jumped into his throat. Shoving things out of his way, Sirius made his way back into the destroyed house, past the lifeless bodies and to the remains of a small room just off from the back door. There he searched, picked up fallen wood and threw it aside carelessly until he found the source of the noise.

There, blood dripping down his face, lay James and Lily's only child, his green eyes blood shot from crying. "Harry," Sirius called, falling to his knees by the infant. "Harry, you're alive," he repeated, over and over, as if convincing himself it were true. At the sound of the voice, the infant stopped his crying and reached his arms out towards Sirius. Blood stained hands that were trembling, begging for comfort. In an instant the older man scooped Harry up, hugging him close to his chest and crying all the more. "Thank God, you're alive... I don't know how... I don't CARE how..." he muttered, hugging the child close.

"Sirius? Sirius Black?"

Sirius' head jerked up at the voice and he held Harry closer, as if someone were trying to pry him away. He stood, turning towards the road where a giant of a man stood. This giant was clearly having no problems getting through the rubble, as it crushed under his dolphin sized feet as he walked over to where Sirius stood. "Hagrid?" Sirius asked when the giant was close enough. Not many times had Sirius Black been known to be speechless in his life, but with his best friend dead, standing in the mist of his destroyed house, this was one of them. "What...?"

Hagrid wiped his large hand over his face to clear away the tears. "James an' Lily..." Hagrid waved his huge hand to where they lay. "I can't believe it," he sobbed. Then, as if just realizing it, he leaned forward. "Is... is tha' Harry? He's alive?"

"Yes," Sirius replied, hugging the child closer. But Harry, having heard the other voice, peeked his head up to see who it was.

"Dumbledore said it. Said he'd lived, dunno how he knew. But he did." Hagrid gave a short pause, looking as if he were building up his courage. "Said for me to take him, Sirius," Hagrid explained, as if telling a small child. "Got to take him to his aunt an' uncle's."

Sirius looked bewildered for half a second, hoping he had heard wrong. From the way Hagrid was holding out his hands, Sirius supposed he wasn't. "No."

The giant looked dumbfounded. He scratched his beard uneasily and took a step forward, Sirius took one back. "Now, Sirius, I've got me orders an' Dumbledore..."

"I don't care," Sirius repeated firmly. "Check James and Lily's official documents, it's in their Gringott's vault. I'm Harry's Godfather, I'm his guardian now."

Hagrid stood, completely unsure as to what to do now. But Sirius didn't seem to be sparing him the moment to decide. He bent down, picking up a blue blanket that Harry had been sitting on, and wrapped the child in it. Then he stepped out of the rubble and around the house to where his motorbike sat. At the last second, he seemed to remember something and he turned to the giant, who was still standing in the middle of the once beautiful house. "Tell Dumbledore I wasn't the secret keeper. Tell him that, will you?" And without waiting for a response, Sirius tucked Harry into his arms and started the bike.

As the motorbike rose into the air and blasted out of sight, Hagrid opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again and said, "Damn it."

-End Prologue.

Hi, I hope everyone enjoyed this. Please let me know your thoughts by leaving a review if you read. Huge thanks to my brit/beta Kate for being awesome and helping my pathetic grammar and even worse british! And Shannon for just being Shannon, even after nearly ten years! My continuing posting of stories would not be possible without either one of you!

If you enjoyed this and wanted to come chat with us, you can find us on proboards at bethany212 dot proboards dot com (you can fill that out, I can't put it on here because of the edit program...) or on facebook, look up Lily Evans; A History

~Beth  
01.09.13


	2. Chapter 1- The Fight for Sanity

The Road Not Taken  
By: Bethany  
Rated: PG  
Chapter I: The Fight for Sanity

Remus Lupin was a quiet man. Yes, he was barely twenty two years old, and most chaps his age lived the wild life. But not Remus. The monster he would become once a month stole that from him. But given the personality Remus had, he didn't care that he lived far away from the noise that littered the city. Away from the prying eyes that would scorn him, fear him and attack him. So, on Halloween night, 1981, he could honestly say he was surprised when a huge black motorbike fell out of the sky and into his front garden. Then, even more surprised, when the person upon that motorbike bypassed all the wards he had around his house and banged loudly on the front door.

Quickly Remus opened the door, his wand in his hand, only to find Sirius Black standing on the porch, and bundle of blue blankets in his arms. "Moony," Sirius breathed, looking behind him like he expected to be attacked any moment. "You've got to let me in."

"What happened?" Remus demanded urgently, stepping back to allow Sirius in, and then closing the door promptly behind him. With a quick wave of his wand the lights in the hall jumped to life, casting a yellow hue over Sirius' already pasty, pale face. "What have you... Harry!"

At that moment the black haired infant boy's head had poked out from the protection of the blanket, still covered in now dried blood. His green eyes lit up as he recognized Remus and he grinned. "Moon-e!" he said, reaching his arms out. Remus turned his attention to Sirius. "What happened?" he repeated. "Where are James and..." Realization dawned on his face and he swallowed hard. "What happened?" he demanded for a third time.

Sirius crossed the hall and sat heavily in an arm chair, Harry sitting on his lap and blinking around interestedly. Sirius swallowed audibly. "They're dead. Both of them." He paused a moment, as if the words physically pained him to speak. "Voldemort."

"But how? I thought..." Remus' mind was working very quickly and suddenly he had the urge to punch Sirius. Or worse. "YOU! You were their secret keeper!"

Sirius grabbed Harry to keep him from climbing off his lap and pulled him closer, as if the infant boy was his only link to his sanity. "Remus, wait. Peter. It was... damn it, this is my fault. I suggested this!"

The outburst caused Harry to stir, his eyes opened wide as he stared at his usually softly spoken godfather. His eyes welled with tears. "I'm sorry, Harry, I'm sorry," Sirius said softly, rubbing his hand through Harry's black hair soothingly. "I didn't mean to yell."

Remus was pacing between where Sirius sat and the fireplace, his face a mask of disbelief. "You switched?" he said suddenly, sparing a glace in Sirius' direction. "Without telling me? You thought...?"

Sirius found yet another sob in his throat, but this one was forced down. Barely. "Yes," he croaked out. "I'm sorry. You'll never know how much."

Remus sat in the chair opposite Sirius and buried his face in his hands. Sirius sat quietly, trying to rock Harry to sleep. The blood on the child's face, though, where was that coming from? His thoughts were interrupted by a hand suddenly covering his lower arm. "I'm sorry, too," Remus said quietly. "I thought it was you." There was another pause, in which Sirius nodded his understanding. Then, Remus was on his feet again. "Peter? I would have never... He sold them out? You're sure? Did you check?"

"I-I've had a bad feeling today. Something was just off. So I checked on Peter, but he was gone. No sign of a struggle, nothing. Just gone. And then... then I went to James' and..." His voice trailed off while he attempted to bring his emotions back under control. "Moony, I swear, when I get my hands on him."

"Wait," Remus said suddenly. "Who knows Peter was the secret keeper?"

"Me, James and Lily," Sirius said. The words were no more out of his mouth when all the blood drained from his face. "No one else. No one else on his entire bloody planet knows the truth except-"

"Peter," they finished together. Remus looked grave. "We've got to get to Dumbledore, tell him. Before the Ministry comes looking for you. Damn it, Sirius, unless they find Peter and... it looks like you did this."

"So much for my bloody brilliant plans," Sirius moaned. His eyes were dark, nothing like the usually bright blue glint of mischief and fun that Remus usually saw there. Sadness, regret and a deep sorrow had been etched into Sirius' soul. But there was no time for grief now.

"How did Harry survive?" Remus suddenly asked, noticing, as if for the first time, that Sirius was holding their best friend's son. "And where is that blood coming from?"

"I don't know," Sirius replied, turning Harry so he could get a good look. "To either of your questions, actually. I didn't think... the house was... but he started crying. I found him, but he had all this blood on him."

Remus quickly strode across the room and into the bathroom. He emerged a moment later with a wet cloth which he used to wipe the dried blood from Harry's head. As the dirt and blood disappeared, a cut became more and more visible. A cut that wove its way down the centre of Harry's head, just above his eyes, in the shape of a lightening bolt. Sirius and Remus' eyes met, but one was just as lost as the other.

* * *

"Headmaster."

The door to Professor Dumbledore's private chambers burst open without so much as a knock. A tall man with shoulder length black hair and black billowing robes marched in, uninvited, shocking the two people that sat in chairs in front of the Headmaster of Hogwarts' desk. Unphased, the man strode around the back of the desk to where Dumbledore sat, looking very grave. He yanked up his left sleeve to his robes and showed the Headmaster his arm.

The response was instantaneous.

Dumbledore jumped to his feet. In a move most uncharacteristic of his normal self, he grabbed the man's arm and brought it closer to himself for better inspection. Then, suddenly, he turned his blue eyes to the man. "Severus, can you explain this?"

"He's gone," Severus replied breathlessly, looking just as much, if not more confused, than the Headmaster. "I don't understand it any more than you. But it's true."

"Who's gone?" a witch sitting on the other side of the desk demanded. "What's this about?"

"Voldemort," Dumbledore replied softly, sitting back down in his seat. He steepled his hands together beneath his chin and stared ahead at a seemingly very interesting spot on the wall behind them. "Then the prophecy has come to pass. Hagrid, you say that Harry Potter is indeed alive?"

"Yes sir," the giant replied, leaning forward a bit. "Seem 'em myself, sir."

"Indeed," Minerva McGonagall, the witch sitting beside him said snappishly. "But in the hands of Sirius Black, for how long?"

Hagrid's face fell in shame, but perked up again just as suddenly. "Professor Dumbledore, Sirius said to tell ya', sir, that he wasn't tha secret keeper."

Dumbledore's blue eyes focused on Hagrid sharply. "He said that?"

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry, I didn't tell ya earlier. But he did say it."

"When you saw him at the Potter's?" Dumbledore pressed, looking very interested in this new information. Hagrid nodded and Dumbledore sat back in his chair, apparently lost in deep thought. McGonagall, Snape and Hagrid all waited patiently. Finally, he leaned forward once more, resting his elbows on his desk. "This presents many a question, I'm afraid. If Sirius Black was the Potter's secret keeper, why is he lying? And if he wasn't, who was?" Dumbledore's eyes were very grave now, not one hint of the sparkling light that usually shone coming through. "Minerva, I would like for you to contact Minister Fudge and tell him the news."

"What news?" McGonagall asked, one hand on her throat and the other gripping the chair handle so hard that the whites of her knuckles were clearly visible.

Professor Dumbledore stood, coming around his desk where he paused. "That Lord Voldemort has gone."

For a split second the Transfiguration teacher and Deputy Headmistress looked as if she would question Snape's word, but instead she nodded once and saw herself out. Dumbledore turned at once to Snape. "I'm sure there is a meeting to discuss this event?"

"Indeed," Snape replied, and he, too, left the room in a swishing of black robes.

Only Hagrid remained, and he watched the Headmaster move across the room with half anticipation and half admiration. The wizard came to a stop near a large window that looked out over the grounds and stood completely still for a long moment. Hagrid shifted uncomfortably, but Dumbledore still said nothing. Finally, just when the giant was readying an excuse to leave, Dumbledore turned around. "You say that Sirius took Harry? And said that James and Lily's will named him guardian?"

"Yes, sir," Hagrid replied.

The sun rose up over the forest edge and shone brightly through the window, lighting up the many instruments that lined Dumbledore's office shelves. The Headmaster turned from the view of the sun kissed grounds and picked up a cloak from a coat hanger next to the door. "Come, Hagrid. We must find Pettigrew, Black and Lupin." As he headed out of the door, his voice drifted back to the giant. "Before anyone else does."

* * *

The moon's sparse rays had disappeared long ago, allowing the sun to rise gently over the horizon and shine down on the two sleeping figures on Remus Lupin's sofa. At any other time, Remus would have been touched by the scene. After all, it was hard to picture Sirius Black, daredevil and prankster extraordinaire, laying on his back, a sleeping baby curled up on his chest. One would have had to see it to believe it, and Remus was seeing it.

Only it wasn't heart warming. On the contrary, it was heart wrenching. Painfully so. The small infant, so innocent in his sleep, was now parentless. His world would begin to change in ways that neither Sirius nor Remus understood, let alone the small child. Remus closed the book in his lap gently, so as to not wake his house guests, and placed it back on the shelf. He stared at the title of peeling letters along the spine, _Curse Scars and How to Recognize Them_and felt a shuddering breath leave his lungs. Whatever had happened when Voldemort had turned his wand on Harry, had not only not killed the child (which was a miracle in itself) but had left only a small, lightning bolt shaped scar on his brow. A scar, which if the book were to be believed, would remain with Harry for the rest of his life.

And what had become of Voldemort? Remus had no more thought the question, when a tapping sounded through the house. Quickly he got to his feet and went to the kitchen door to let the delivery owl through with the newspaper. He deposited the knuts in a small leather pouch attached to the owl's leg, took the paper, and laid it on the table. He then began shifting through the kitchen, looking for coffee, or tea, or something that would warm up the chill that seemed to have settled in his bones. He knew he couldn't let Sirius sleep for long, but he also knew his friend well enough to know that something stronger than water had better be somewhere within the other man's grasp, or he would be a bear when he awoke.

Or a dog. However one wanted to look at it.

Flicking his wand, Remus burnt some toast (cooking wasn't his strong point) and managed the spell to boil the water for tea. He had nearly finished when he happened to look down and saw a pair of startling green eyes staring up at him from under a ruffle of black hair. Remus backtracked, looked down again and then around the room. Sirius was nowhere to be found, but Harry had obviously woken up and decided to come and see what the noise in the kitchen was all about.

Not knowing what else to do with the child (children weren't necessarily the strong points of werewolves) Remus bent down and picked Harry up gingerly and sat him on the worktop. "Now, what to do with you," he said matter of factly. Harry blinked at him sleepily. "Are you hungry then?" Another blink. "What do babies eat for breakfast anyway?"

"Bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches, I think," came a groggy voice from the doorway. Remus nearly snapped his neck in two, looking over to the doorway that fast. Sirius was leaning against the doorway, running a hand through his short black hair. His eyes wondered around the room and landed on Harry, who had also noticed him and was holding his arms out to be picked up. Sirius stumbled across the room, plucked Harry off the worktop and sat at the table with the baby on his lap. "You made tea? Got anything stronger?"

Remus placed the tea pot on the table, along with two chipped mugs. "No. Tea will have to do, I'm afraid. Better hurry up. If we stay around here too long, I'm sure we'll have some unwanted company."

Sirius nodded his understanding and downed his scalding hot tea in two gulps. Remus made a small face of disbelief, but otherwise managed to ignore Sirius. Harry was reaching with his chubby arms across the table for the toast, which Sirius pushed out of his reach. "You don't want burnt toast, Harry," Sirius said, then glanced at Remus out of the corner of his eye as if waiting for a reaction. When he didn't get what he was expecting, he summoned the loaf of bread to the table and managed to burn two more pieces for the child.

If he was suddenly going to be a parent, he'd have to learn some cooking spells - and fast. Scraping the burnt part off with the edge of his wand (Remus cast him another look of disbelief, but was dutifully ignored) Sirius broke the toast in half and handed one piece to Harry. He then glanced around, as if trying to decide what to give the infant to drink. "Eh, do you have any milk?"

"Not that doesn't resemble cheese by now," Remus replied evenly and sipped his tea. "Perhaps you should just cool down some tea and give him that?"

"Babies don't like tea, do they?" Sirius asked blankly.

"I don't know, Padfoot, why don't you ask him if he takes sugar or milk," the other man replied in the tone of one discussing how to bring about world peace. Sirius glared at him across the table, but Remus ignored it and flipped open the _Daily Prophet_followed almost instantly by him spitting his tea out all over the front page.

"What?" Sirius demanded, trying to see the front page of the paper and failing because Harry was being squished into the table when he leant forward.

Remus' eyes were scanning the words quickly, and Sirius nearly opened his mouth to demand, again, what it said, when Remus finally decided to explain. "Listen to this. _You-Know-Who is Gone. Late last night in Godric's Hollow, Voldemort struck again and reliable sources say met his downfall. Details are unclear at this point, but the Minister of Magic did contact the Daily Prophet in the early morning hours to announce that You-Know-Who had attacked and killed Lily and James Potter, but failed to kill their infant son, Harry. As a result of this attack, You-Know-Who has been destroyed. While nothing is being confirmed by the Ministry, it is rumoured that the child was taken from the remains of his former home early this morning by Rubeus Hagrid and Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts._"

Sirius and Remus' eyes met across the table. "Well, they got that last part wrong," Sirius said matter of factly. "Hagrid tried to take Harry, but as you can tell..."

"Take him? Where?" Remus asked urgently. Obviously Sirius had left this part of the story out last night. The werewolf hadn't realised anyone had seen Sirius at the Potter's house.

"To his aunt and uncle's, apparently," Sirius spat out. "And I can promise you that Lily had no intention of her son going to her sister," Sirius spat the word like it left a bad taste in his mouth. "So what Dumbledore was thinking, I'll never know."

"But Hagrid knows-" Remus suddenly stopped, his head jerking up. Sirius sat up straighter, trying to hear whatever was Remus had. But the werewolf had better senses. Suddenly Remus was on his feet. "How about we talk about this elsewhere?"

Sirius said nothing, only gathered Harry and his blanket and followed Remus into the living room. Remus threw a shabby grey cloak to Sirius, who caught it and put it on quickly. He then wrapped Harry in the blanket as Remus threw Floo Powder in the fireplace. "Quick, where we going?"

"My place?

"You're mad, that's the first place they'll look," Remus replied. "Where else? And make it quick." His eyes darted to the door and this time Sirius could hear people outside.

Sirius searched his mind, but only came up with one place. "Merlin help us," he said, and in an understanding that came from years of close friendship, Remus nodded. Sirius, still holding Harry close to his chest, stepped into the flames and called, "Twelve, Grimmauld Place!"

Remus seemed to hold his breath as he waited for Sirius to be gone before he followed. He could still hear the pounding on the door as he disappeared through the flames. When the revolving came to a stop, Remus blinked to regain control over the dizziness that had grasped him, and stepped out of a large fireplace and into a living room. Sirius was waiting just a few feet away, bouncing a crying Harry who obviously hated travelling by Floo. Remus couldn't say he blamed him.

"I don't think anyone's home, or by now my mother would have come screaming in here, after our necks," Sirius replied, going to the door and glancing into the hall beyond. "With any luck we can get out of here unscathed."

The two friends and the infant boy crossed the hall quickly and nearly made it to the front door when a voice screamed behind them; "How dare you be in this house!"

Luckily for both of the young men, it was not Sirius' mother's voice that almost deafened them, quite apart from giving them a heart attack. It was the house elf. Sirius smirked as he turned to look over his shoulder. "Go knock yourself in the head with an iron, Kreacher," Sirius told him and continued out the front door after Remus. "And tell dear Mother that I'm glad we missed her."

They could still hear Kreacher giving them the usual speech (how Sirius had broken his mother's heart, and how Remus was a half blood monster) as they slammed the door shut and exited through the streets of London towards Diagon Alley. With Harry bundled up in Sirius' arms, and both men's heads covered with cloaks, no one seem to pay them any attention, besides the occasional Muggle that stared at them as if they were crazy. They felt a little crazy, actually, but that didn't seem to matter.

"We've got to find a way to get to Hogwarts un-noticed," Remus suddenly said. "Dumbledore's our only chance."

"Oh, and shall we bring him a gift? Perhaps a fruit basket?" Sirius replied, raising an eyebrow at Remus and readjusting Harry in his arms. "Can't barge into the school, in the middle of term, and not bring a present."

"You're not helping, Padfoot," Remus said gently, knowing full well that sarcastic, annoying behaviour was all that was keeping Sirius calm at the moment. Sirius had been doing that since they were in their first year; he wasn't going to stop now.

The two men continued down the street, discussing in whispered tones what their next move should be. Finally, ten minutes later, they had finally agreed that muggle London wasn't the best place to be, considering their predicament. "Got any money on you?" Sirius asked Remus. "All mine is with my motorbike, which happens to be in your front garden."

Remus searched his robe pockets and came up with a galleon. Sirius handed Harry to Remus and looked around to ensure no one was near by. Unfortunately, there were many muggles passing through. "Here, we'll have to do this in an alley." Do what, Remus didn't know, but he had a keen idea when he and Sirius walked to the back of an alleyway and Sirius pulled his wand. Both men pressed themselves against the wall and Sirius brought his wand down sharply.

Even though it was expected, the arrival of the Knight Bus, squeezing in the area between two department stores in London was a startling sight. "Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transportation for the stranded witch or wizar-"

"Yeah, yeah, shut up," Sirius snarled, shoving the piece of gold in the old man's hand and climbing aboard. Remus followed, being sure to keep his hood down. The old man looked frightened for a moment until Remus threw him a small smile. "Hogsmeade," Sirius added as a second thought before climbing the stairs to the second floor. Thankfully, it was empty. Sirius fell into an armchair and held on tight to Harry.

BANG! The bus was suddenly flying through the countryside, trees and barns jumping out of its way as it went. Remus sat beside Sirius, feeling slightly nauseous as the bus gave another lurch and flew forward about twenty miles. "That was rather rude of you," Remus noted, finally feeling semi-safe in opening his mouth.

Sirius shrugged nonchalantly. "I didn't want him coming up here to offer us hot tea, and staying to chat." The bus lurched to the side and Sirius growled irritably. "Hope we get there soon."

Soon was an understatement. Since the bus didn't seem to have anyone else aboard besides a short witch who was also covered in a cloak that hid her face, the second stop was Hogsmeade. Without a word Sirius and Remus descended the stairs and didn't turn to acknowledge that the conductor had bid them good day just a bit nervously.

Once they were making their way up the High Street, Sirius started to question their motives for going to Hogwarts at all. Wishing blatantly that they had the Marauder's Map, they decided the best course of action was to use one of the secret passages into the school, rather than the front door, which would be likely to set off an alarm if anyone spotted them. Once they slipped past the owner of Honeydukes, the two men and child climbed down the steps and into a tunnel that led to a statue of a one-eyed humped witch in a third floor corridor of the school.

To say that Harry didn't take well to the tunnel was putting it mildly. Sirius and Remus knew this tunnel by heart, having used it many times to sneak into Hogsmeade. But the infant only knew that he could barely see his hand in front of his face, and therefore decided to solve this problem by crying loudly. It took Sirius several minutes to calm him, and in the end both he and Remus had to keep their wands alight and near Harry, so that the baby could see both of them clearly.

This altered their speed considerably, and by the time they reached the stairs leading up to the one-eyed witch, Sirius felt like his legs were made of jelly. "Crikey, you've been eating too much, Harry," Sirius told the child, who was looking slightly sleepy at the moment.

"It's only because you've been carrying him so long," Remus said philosophically, in a tone that Sirius and James had long ago dubbed "Professor Lupin".

"Oh," Sirius replied, before pushing the baby into Remus' arms. "That must mean it's your turn."

Remus held the baby like he was a sack of potatoes. "That _wasn't_what I had in mind," he muttered and tried to hold Harry in one arm, while holding his wand up with his other. He nodded towards the trap door they could see above them. "Better make sure no one is in the hall."

Sirius nodded and climbed up ahead, his lit wand still held before him. He pushed the door open, stuck his head through the opening and looked around. A second later he motioned for Remus to follow. "Come on, it's clear for the moment." He checked his watch. "If I'm right, we've got about ten minutes before the end of classes."

As quietly and quickly as they could, they both pushed themselves through the opening and slid out of the tunnel and into a third floor corridor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. With an unspoken agreement, they headed towards Professor Dumbledore's office. They hadn't made it very far though, when someone came around the corner of the staircase at the bottom of the hall. Sirius stopped dead in his tracks, Remus nearly running headlong into him.

"Well," sneered a voice that Sirius and Remus both knew only too well. The wizard came up the few steps separating him with the two men and child, his arms crossed over his chest and a slightly amused look on his face. "Well, well, well... if it isn't the traitor and his pet werewolf."

"Sod off Snape, we've got bigger fish than you to fry."

"Indeed," Severus Snape replied to Sirius silkily, sneering and blocking their path. "Of course, after the Potters, I'm just like stepping on a Flobberworm, I'm sure."

Had Sirius not suddenly found himself holding his best friend's son, he probably would have cursed Snape on the spot. As it was, he was hard pressed not to do it anyway. Unfortunately, the usually calm, collected and level headed Remus was holding his wand pointed directly at Snape, his face caught in an expression of anger that Sirius had only ever seen once. When it had been directed at him. He pitied whoever happened to be on the receiving end of that wrath. Well, pitied anyone who was not Severus Snape. At the moment though, he felt that the only better solution to their problem would have been for _him_to be the happy owner of the wand directed at the other wizard's heart.

"I'm warning you, Snape, I have no intention of letting you stop us. Get out of the way." Remus' voice was quiet and controlled. But if anyone had ever made the mistake of thinking that quietness made Remus weak... well, Sirius knew that they never thought it twice, that was for sure. And Snape seemed to realize it, even as he stood his ground.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Snape snarled, still eyeing Remus' wand carefully.

"To see Albus," Remus told him point blank. "And we're wasting time here. Get out of the way." He voice brooked no argument, not even from Severus Snape who usually argued until the curses were so hot and heavy that someone was bound to get hurt. To Sirius' surprise (and slight relief, he had no idea what he would do with Harry if he had to start blasting curses) Snape moved aside.

Remus started ahead, but if there was anything Sirius knew, it was that turning your back on Snape wasn't ever a good idea. He grabbed Remus' arm to keep him from going further and nodded towards Snape. "Go on, then. I'll be damned if I'm going to let you curse us in the back as we walk away."

Snape gave another trademark sneer and stepped forward, knowing full well, without having to look, that Sirius had his wand trained on his back. Making an awkward looking group, the three wizards and infant slowly made their way towards the stone gargoyle that marked the hidden passage to the Headmaster's office.

Before they made it, however, they came across other unwanted guest. Sirius cursed under his breath, not hiding the glare he sent at the witch who now stood before him, her wand directed at him. Severus turned so that he, too, was facing the men, and had pulled his own wand. For a moment no one moved. Sirius had his wand on Snape, Professor McGonagall had hers on Sirius, Remus had his held up at a nice angle between the two.

The Transfiguration teacher's eyes were as large as tea saucers. "Sirius Black. I can't believe that you would have the nerve-"

"Its stupidity, I assure you," Snape intervened.

"To come to this school after what had happened in the last twenty-four hours," the stern witch continued, ignoring Snape, her eyes focused only on Sirius and Remus. She seemed to suddenly realise that the former was holding a small child. A small child that a lot of people in the wizarding world were looking for at the moment. For some reason, the sight of the twenty two year old man holding Harry Potter seemed to soften her gaze. Or, at least, her lips didn't look like they had disappeared all together.

Sirius took this as a good sign. "Professor, look, you have to listen to me. I wasn't the secret ke-"

"Mr. Black, I do not have to listen to anything you have to say at the moment. Severus, please take the child to Poppy to see that he's well."

Snape stood stock still, looking for all the world as if McGonagall had asked him to run down the halls singing Christmas carols. His already thin lips pursed even tighter, but he didn't move otherwise. McGonagall nodded her head towards him. "Take Harry to Poppy, Severus."

"I'll take him," Remus offered, reaching for Harry. McGonagall, looking like she was doing it against her own will, raised her wand to him. "Or maybe I won't," Remus backtracked, holding his hands out in a peace offering. "Is Dumbledore here? Can we see him, please?"

Suddenly Sirius dropped his wand. For a moment Remus gave a confused look to his friend, but with an unspoken word, did the same. McGonagall blinked, confused. "Here, take my wand," Sirius offered, holding it towards the witch. "I'm not going to throw hexes at anyone but Peter Pettigrew. He's the only one who deserves it."

McGonagall looked even more confused at this statement, though she did take the wands and pocketed them. Sirius bounced Harry slightly, making him giggle. "Peter Pettigrew?" Minerva repeated, glancing at Snape as though he would know better than she. "Why?"

Snape seemed to catch on at that moment, because he smiled. But it wasn't a smile that either Sirius or Remus could say made them feel one bit better. "You don't mean to say..." Snape drawled. "The idea is absurd. Laughable. You expect Dumbledore to _believe_you?"

Sirius didn't look much happier, but managed to not growl as he spoke. "Laughable? I'll say. Who would have thought, talentless, clueless little Peter Pettigrew would be a spy for Voldemort? I wouldn't have thought it. I didn't. Not until it was too late."

"Pettigrew? A spy for... for You-Know-Who?" McGonagall repeated anxiously.

Sirius nodded. McGonagall didn't look convinced, though. She was shaking her head, muttering under her breath about how "impossible" and "absurd" the idea was, even as she reached out to take Harry from Sirius. The infant cringed closer to Sirius, burying his face into Sirius' cloak, hiding his green eyes. "Come, child," McGonagall urged, putting her hands on Harry's back.

Harry began whining, getting ready for what Sirius and Remus knew would be a fully fledged scream in a matter of seconds. "No," Sirius said, pulling back. "He doesn't know you. He's scared. Either Remus or I take him to Poppy, and stay with him there, or he doesn't go."

"Nonsense, Black," McGonagall insisted, again reaching for Harry, who did as was predicted.

All in a matter of seconds quite a few things happened. Harry let out a bloodcurdling scream that echoed down the stone corridors of the school, Sirius snatched Harry back, Snape shouted "Stupefy!" and Remus, who had moved in the way of the spell, hit the ground.

Sirius turned on Snape, his face so alight with fury that even Snape seemed to back down. "DAMN YOU!" Sirius screamed, lunging at McGonagall and thus, his wand. In a second of uncontrolled panic, McGonagall raised her wand to Sirius and cried, "Stupefy!" And only barely did she manage to catch Harry before Sirius slumped to the ground next to Remus.

For a second there was a deafening silence, and then the quiet sobs of a one-year-old filled the space as he looked down at his godfather. Not understanding, he reached his arms out for Sirius to stand, and pick him back up. When Sirius didn't move, he cried louder. McGonagall looked aghast, not knowing what to do to calm the infant. Not knowing what or who to believe.

Severus Snape stood to her left, a small menacing smile on his face.

-End chapter 1.

Hi everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you didn't, I hope you at least pretend long enough to leave a review.

Thank you to everyone who complimented on the prologue. I appreciate your encouraging comments. And, as a matter of fact, I am writing a story with an alternate secret keeper. It won't be out for a good long while, though, because it is an alternate ending to a story I'm currently writing called Lily Evans; A History. But you can always check out Lily Evans; A History while you're waiting (*insert shameless self promotion here*)

Beth  
01.09.13

(originally posted 3/29/04)


	3. Chapter 2- The Fight for Truth

The Road Not Taken  
By: Bethany  
Rated: PG  
Chapter II: The Fight for Truth

* * *

Amidst Harry's anguished cries, the sound of a far door shutting reached Minerva McGonagall's ears and she turned just in time to see Albus Dumbledore, flanked by Hagrid's huge form, coming down the hall at a very swift rate. Noticing the two stunned bodies on the floor in front of the two professors and the crying child, he broke into a run. "What is going on here? What is the meaning of this?" he asked upon joining the scene.

Snape's black eyes flashed up to the Headmaster and then down to the two forms of the wizards on the floor. He sneered, but at Albus' stern look, it dropped off his face, mostly. "Headmaster, these two men broke into the castle-"

Whatever he was about to accuse Remus and Sirius of, no one found out. At that moment McGonagall seemed to have recovered her senses and cut him off sharply. "I believe they were on their way to see you, Professor Dumbledore."

Dumbledore's eyes shifted to Minerva, took in the still sobbing child, and then the two wizards on the floor once more. "Then we should hear what they have to say," Dumbledore decided. Snape's sneer suddenly reappeared on his face and he looked as if he were preparing to speak when the Headmaster continued. "Thank you for your assistance, Severus, but I believe we have this under control and you have a Potions class to prepare for."

Left with no room for argument, Snape turned, his black robes sweeping the floor in his wake. His posture clearly spoke of his anger, but no one paid him any attention. Dumbledore pointed his wand at the two men and commanded, "_Mobilicorpus!_" The two bodies rose from the stone floor and hovered a few feet in the air, supported only by Dumbledore's wand. "Let's take this to my office, the bell should be ringing any moment and this could create quite a few problems."

They made an odd looking group as they climbed the stairs that would lead to Dumbledore's office. First in line the two unconscious wizards, followed by Dumbledore, McGonagall who still carried a still crying, though slightly calmer (since he was slowly falling asleep) Harry, and lastly the giant Hagrid. As if they knew and respected the Headmaster, the gargoyle at the bottom of his secret staircase moved aside as they approached without so much a muttering of the password, and the stairs appeared, moving up towards the room Dumbledore called his office. Once they all gathered in the circular room, Dumbledore closed the oak door. "_Enervate._"

Sirius and Remus blinked around in a confused manner for several moments until they regained consciousness and remembered what had happened. Sirius jumped to his feet, searching frantically for something that not even Remus seemed to realise what it was until the young man's eyes fell on Harry. Without so much as a word, he took the nearly sleeping child from McGonagall and exhaled a breath of relief as he flopped down in the chair beside Remus. Dumbledore, his lips lifted slightly, sat across the desk from them in his own chair. "Oh!" he gasped. "Allow me to draw up a chair for you, Minerva, Hagrid."

"No need, Albus," McGonagall replied, taking her own wand out. She flipped it around and a tall back wooden chair appeared out of thin air, spinning. Slowly it came to a stop and landed beside her where she sat. Dumbledore motioned to make a chair for Hagrid, but he was standing by the door, looking nervous. Dumbledore seemed to understand. "Thank you for all your help, Hagrid."

"You're welcome, sir," Hagrid replied, and bowed a bit before exiting.

Albus Dumbledore then turned his attention to Remus Lupin and Sirius Black again, his blue eyes intense as he studied them both. Finally he leaned back in his chair and placed his hands out in front of him. "I've just been to your home, Mr. Lupin. I thought someone was home, but by the time we knocked, there wasn't. Perhaps you were in a hurry to get somewhere."

For the first time in many years, Sirius got the joy of seeing Remus blush, his face turning a slight red. He recovered quickly enough, but not before realising that Sirius would probably never let him live that down. The werewolf chewed the inside of his lip thoughtfully for a second before giving a half glance at Sirius, and thus threatening him with a brutal hex if he spoke, and looked to the Headmaster. "Sorry, sir."

"Understandable, understandable," Dumbledore replied, waving his hand as if waving away the apology. "What I'm eager to hear is what happened." Sirius' face fell visibly and he tightened his hold on his godchild. "Sometime in the last week something happened that has lead us to this point, and I'm afraid that without the details, all signs point to you, Sirius, as being a traitor and spy for the Dark Lord. Now, as men guilty of those crimes wouldn't be risking their life by coming into this school, I assume it's safe to say that you have something to tell me."

Sirius barely moved. His jaw was clenched shut in anger, regret and a burning desire for revenge shone through his eyes. Remus watched his friend out of the corner of his eye, desperate to say something, but knowing that this was Sirius' story to tell. After all, they had thought him the traitor.

Just as he had thought Sirius had been.

The very thought of James and Lily made Remus feel like someone had punched him in the stomach. James had been his first friend, the boy who had joined Sirius in risking everything to turn Animagi for his own sake. And the man he had become still risked everything for those he cared about. And he was dead. The only thing left that connected Remus to that past was Sirius and the baby boy sleeping contentedly on Sirius' lap. The baby who looked so much like James and Lily.

"...and that's when I went to Remus'." The werewolf blinked, having missed the entire story about Sirius' activities in the last forty-eight hours during his own train of thought. But he had already heard it once, and the story was engraved in his mind permanently. He didn't need, or want, to hear it again.

The Headmaster looked thoughtful for a tense moment. Remus let his line of vision wander and noticed (though he said nothing) that Professor McGonagall, while sitting so silently through Sirius' tale, was wiping tears from her eyes. Remus knew that no matter what they did, or how much trouble they got into, the Marauders had always held a special place in their Head of House's heart. And Lily, too, had been a favourite of the witch. It was no wonder she sat now, shedding the tears that Remus felt that had he had been alone, he would shed. At that moment McGonagall seemed to notice Remus' gaze on herself and she gave him a shaky smile and reached over to pat his hand gently.

"The problem, as I'm sure you know, is that the only people who know for certain what happened are you, James, Lily and Peter." Dumbledore began. "Needless to say, Sirius, this doesn't bode well for you. The Ministry is going to want answers. Not only because the Potters were killed, but because they were a prominent family, fighting against Voldemort. And their son..." Dumbledore's eyes landed on Harry's sleeping form as he sucked on his thumb gently. "Their son lived. This will not be easy. We must find Peter and-"

"And shove my wand up his-"

"Sirius!" Remus hissed, widening his eyes. Harry stirred and Sirius shot Remus a warning look. But Remus didn't back down. "We have to bring Peter in alive. Without him, you are looking at Azkaban." The colour drained from Sirius' face, but the rage was still evident. Remus drove his meaning home with his next words. "And what will happen to Harry?"

For the first time in eleven years of friendship, Sirius Black backed down from a fight of wills against Remus. He turned his blue eyes back to the Headmaster, who was watching the scene with a sense of foreboding that made Sirius' skin crawl. "He has most likely," Sirius began, gritting his teeth. "gone back to the safety of the Death Eaters."

"I don't think so," Dumbledore replied, making all three people in his office sit up and look at him oddly. "Voldemort has gone. He went to the Potters on Peter's information, and meet his downfall. I'd imagine there aren't many Death Eaters very happy with Mr. Pettigrew at the moment."

Sirius' eyes were burning again, but not with rage so much as a determination. "I can find him."

"Sirius, no, I don't-"

"Remus, if anyone can find him, it's me. If he's running scared, then I will know how to track him down-"

"I think we should let hit wizards bring him in, or Aurors," Remus interrupted for the second time, placing his words carefully lest Sirius run out the door now. "If you let your emotions get in the way, Sirius, and you hurt him in anyway..."

"You're damn right I'm going to hurt him, Moony, he killed James and Lily!" Sirius' voice roared. Harry awoke and began crying, but Sirius didn't pay him much attention as he was busy staring Remus down.

Dumbledore and McGonagall said nothing, seeming to realise that this had to be fought out between the friends. The werewolf didn't flinch. "Sirius, this is what I'm talking about. If you kill Peter you will go to Azkaban. It doesn't matter if you were the secret keeper or not, you will have killed a man that they don't know is a Death Eater. No one but us knows, Sirius. Keep a level head about you!"

Sirius choked, leaned back and busied himself with calming Harry. The baby continued to cry, fat tears running down his face and his fists balled up in frustration and fear. Remus couldn't blame him really, he felt like doing the same. Only for far different reasons. Trying to calm himself, he too leant back in his chair while Sirius consoled the child in his lap. Dumbledore, sensing their argument had come to an end, took the moment to speak. "I think that if Sirius thinks he can track him down, than he should." Dumbledore raised his hands to ward off anything Remus might say. "And you, Remus, should accompany him. We need to find Peter straight away, but not alert the Ministry to what we are doing. Which leaves us with precious little time."

"Why not alert the Ministry, Albus?" McGonagall asked.

"Because until they find Peter and hear the truth, they will most likely send Sirius to Azkaban to await Peter's trial and send Harry to live with his aunt and uncle."

"No!" Sirius and Remus spat out together, looking at their best friend's son simultaneously.

"Then, I repeat, we have very little time." The Headmaster stood up and came around the desk. "Minerva, breakfast will be starting any moment. Please see that the announcement of Voldemort's fall is given to our students. I need to head to the Ministry to try to buy some time with Minister Fudge. The longer he waits to send out the Aurors in search of Sirius, the better the chance we have to find Peter first."

"What about the child?" McGonagall asked, nodding her head to Sirius. "He can't go with them to track down..."

"Indeed," Dumbledore replied, looking thoughtful for only a second. He then snapped his fingers. "The safest place for him is here. Remus, Sirius, on your way out, please go down to the kitchens and send up two house elves to see me immediately. They'll be able to care for him while we are away. I will lock my office when I leave. No one will be able to enter until I return."

Reluctantly Sirius placed Harry in Dumbledore's arms and the two men left the office. Just before the door shut, Dumbledore called out to them: "Let no student see you! Use the secret passages."

Sirius and Remus continued down the stairs, but instead of leaving through the gargoyle, Remus tapped his wand on a brick at the foot of the bottom most stair, and a doorway slid open out of the seeming solid wall to their left. The two men stepped into it, lit their wands, and continued towards the kitchens. "How did he know that we could get around in these passages?" Sirius wondered aloud.

Remus chuckled dryly. "I don't think there is much that man doesn't know."

Sirius said nothing, only continued down the dark passage towards the kitchens. They made a few turns when suddenly Sirius stopped dead causing Remus to nearly plough straight into him. "What are you-" He stopped, though, when he saw what Sirius was looking at. The passage way had caved in. There was no way around it. "Great," Remus muttered. "So much for not going out and about in the school. And not being seen."

"That has to have caved in since we left school," Sirius said thoughtfully, giving one last, almost mournful look at the rubble before turning around.

"We used that, what, three weeks before the end of school? I wonder what happened to make it cave in?" Remus asked, not really expecting an answer. He wasn't disappointed, Sirius didn't give him one. They were nearly back to the staircase that led to Dumbledore's office when Sirius stopped dead once again.

"The Marauder's Map!" Sirius exclaimed before Remus could protest again, excitement coursing through his voice. "We could nick it back from Filch and get to the kitchens. And it would help when we get back, so we don't run into any students or anything-"

Remus threw Sirius an unbelievable look, but Sirius wasn't to be dissuaded. "No, no, it's perfect. It shows everyone in the school, right? So it's just as good as James' invisibility cloak."

"Couldn't we just ask Dumbledore to get it?" Remus asked, looking sceptical that any plan of Sirius' was worth trying to execute.

"No!" Sirius replied. "We'd have to explain a lot if we did that, Moony. Let's just sneak in there and get it back. Come on." And before Remus could get a word in edgewise, Sirius was running back off in the direction they had just come, leaving Remus to follow him. Heaving a great sigh, Remus took off at a run after him.

They left the wall passage way a few moments later, just outside the broom cupboard that also served as Filch's office. Remus went out ahead of Sirius, checked that there was no one in the hall and motioned for the other man to come out. The scent of danger made shivers run up and down Remus' spine. How often had he and his friends snuck around the school, much as he and Sirius were doing now as adults? And how many times had James and Sirius both tried to get the Marauder's Map back, only to be caught? Lily had once told them it wasn't meant for them to get it back. And Remus couldn't have helped but agree. But maybe, just maybe, the reason they couldn't get it back was because it was meant for them to be able to get to it now. Otherwise, wouldn't it have blown up in the house with James and Lily?

Remus shook his head. He was beginning to think a lot like Professor Antoinette, their old Divination teacher. The woman believed in things like "fate" and that things happened for a "reason". Remus had refused to believe in those things when he was a child, and he sure as hell wasn't going to start now. After all, what "fate" had decided that he should be a werewolf? Sirius nodded his head to him once and Remus held his wand at the ready. It was easy to fall into this role. This is how they successfully played so many pranks during their school years. Falling back to that position and state of mind, Remus nodded back and Sirius pointed his own wand at the door. "_Alohomora_!"

The door creaked ajar and Remus pushed it open from his side of the door, allowing Sirius to drop back into the shadows, waiting for the all clear. As stealthily as he could, Remus pushed the door open completely and peeked inside. Waiting, it seemed, for them to enter, sitting on the desk, was Mrs. Norris, the caretaker's ugly and telltale cat. Remus jumped back outside the door. "Mrs. Norris," he hissed to Sirius, who nodded.

With a faint _pop!_Sirius assumed his animagi form and the large black dog entered the office, hackles raised. Immediately Mrs. Norris' back arched up and she hissed as she jumped up onto a filing cabinet with Sirius quick on her heels. While Sirius growled and paced on the ground below the cat, Remus slipped into the office and quickly made his way towards the opposite wall where he knew Filch kept all the files of confiscated objects. And lying inside a drawer that was devoted completely to the four Marauders, he found a blank piece of parchment. It was like seeing an old friend, and Remus felt as though he could have kissed it.

He stuffed it in his robe pocket and ran back to the door. "Come on, Padfoot, I got it."

With one last growl and hiss, Sirius turned, ran out of the office and slipped into the secret passage with Remus before Mrs. Norris could catch up with them. Or worse, use her unexplainable ability to contact Filch and have him walk in on them. Remus leaned against the wall in the tunnel. "_Lumos_," he instructed his wand, which lit brightly and cast a pale yellow glow around the passageway. Sirius had changed back into himself and was holding his side to keep from laughing. "Did you see that cat run? Merlin, I've wanted to do that for the longest time," Sirius panted, grinning.

Remus grinned, on a slight high from their success in recovering the Marauder's Map. His heart still pounding, he handed the parchment to Sirius, who took it almost as if he too had found a long lost friend. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," Sirius said, touching his wand to the parchment. At once, from the tip of his wand black lines started fanning out, multiplying and zigzagging until a map of Hogwarts and it's grounds appeared. And then, above the map, words in emerald green ink spread out: Messers Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers Proudly Present: The Marauder's Map. Sirius scowled as he read the names at the top, thinking about how much they had given Peter. How much they had risked, and how he had just thrown away their loyalty.

He was interrupted by Remus placing a hand on his shoulder. "Let's get out of here and find him, Padfoot."

Sirius nodded and again lit his wand so he could direct the light at the map. He searched it eagerly for himself and Remus, and found their small dots labelled "Sirius Black" and "Remus Lupin" inside the wall next to Filch's office. It looked as if "Mrs. Norris" had darted into the Great Hall, most likely to inform Filch that someone had been in his office. The dot labelled "Professor Dumbledore" was in his office, still, with "Harry Potter" and at the moment there was no one in the hall beyond the secret passageway they were in.

Sirius tilted his wand to clear the map when suddenly something caught his eye. He squinted, not sure he was seeing correctly. But there, in a hallway off from Gryffindor Tower, was a small dot. Sirius shone his wand on the dot, and a bubble appeared: "Peter Pettigrew".

Remus had already cleared the doorway to the outside hall when Sirius' hand suddenly shot forward, grabbed the back of other's robes and dragged him back into the secret passage so quickly that Remus nearly found himself sprawled out on the ground. He blinked in a confused manner and opened his mouth to ask Sirius what his problem was when Sirius shoved the Marauder's Map in his face and pointed to the dot. "Do you see what I see?"

Remus' brown eyes, so usually calm and understanding, were ablaze with anger. When they met Sirius' eyes over the parchment and lit wands, Sirius mentally cursed himself for even once thinking that Remus was the traitor. This was Moony, their friend. The werewolf with a soft heart, a keen mind and a sense of humour that didn't leave much unnoticed. And in his eyes Sirius could see all his hurt, pain and anger reflected. Without speaking a word, Sirius didn't clear the map, didn't go into the main hall of the castle, but turned back with Remus towards Dumbledore's chambers. Because no matter how badly Sirius and Remus both wanted to hunt Peter down that second and kill him, they had something else to think about. A child. A child that was all that remained of a friendship that had been their saviour, their life, and would now become the centre of it.

* * *

The stone walls looked huge from this angle. They arched upwards towards the heavens for what seemed like forever. Every small bit of rock on the stone floors seemed larger, more jagged. But to the rat that scurried across the floor, none of that mattered. He was used to it, really. After three years of roaming these halls in this form, it was second nature to avoid the cracks, sidestep the larger stone pieces and keep to the shadows, lest Mrs. Norris was hungry.

The last twenty-four hours kept playing in Peter Pettigrew's mind as he ran across the floor on his four feet, with his long tail swishing behind him. Voldemort going after James and Lily. Seeing the destroyed house and thinking, entirely too late, that he never meant for that to happen. But that was his life story, wasn't it? He never meant to do the damage he did. But what else did he know how to do? Good spells, precise magic and the ability to stand up to stronger wizards than himself had never been Peter's strong points. So he did the only thing he knew how: he betrayed, lied, and in the end; killed two of the only friends he had known.

And then, then it had all backfired. Voldemort was gone, and the Death Eaters were more angry than he had ever seen them. They wanted revenge, they wanted him dead for the destruction of their Master. But he hadn't meant to. He hadn't known. He'd had no idea that Voldemort would be no more. He had no more meant for that to happen than he had meant for James and Lily to die.

The only thing he knew for certain is that he had to run, now. He had to find a place to hide from all of them. Sirius would surely tell Remus that he hadn't been the secret keeper, and he would believe him. And then Remus would tell the Ministry it hadn't been Sirius, because people always believed Remus. They always loved Sirius, wanted to be like James, believed Remus and... and where did he fit into that? He never understood. But he knew now: he didn't fit into that. Never had. And he was the one to betray their trust.

So in order to hide from it all, he had a plan. He would find some young witch or wizard, get taken into a wizarding home and spend the rest of his life as a rat. Alive, but as a rat. It was a good plan, and Peter never really came up with good plans. He was proud of this one, actually. And it might have worked. Because two minutes after the fact, a young boy came out of Gryffindor Tower, his bright red hair sticking up at odd angles as he charged out of the room. And in another time; another fate, he very well may have tripped over the rat and hurt him. And feeling badly for it, would have kept him and given him to his younger brother for his forthcoming birthday.

But none of that happened. Perhaps the Fates had been in a good mood that crisp November morning of 1981. After the destruction of a friendship, after the killing of two people and the lives that lingered on the edge of sanity, perhaps it was time for one thing to go right.

As the portrait that covered the entrance to Gryffindor Tower slammed open, revealing a tall red headed wizard, Peter Pettigrew found himself ripped up from the floor. He squeaked, thrashing about madly. And only when he seen the angry, rage filled eyes of Sirius Black, did he realise it was over. Sirius was smiling, and it was perhaps the most frightening thing Peter had ever seen in his life.

Bill Weasley on the other hand, looked startled at the two wizards in the hall, a struggling rat held between them by its tail. "Hey, who are you?"

"I'm probably the happiest wizard in the world at this moment, kid," Sirius replied, his voice ringing with a hard edge that sounded as it came from someone on the border of sanity. His white teeth flashed in the torch light. "Hello Peter," he said to the rat. "We'd like to have a little conversation with you, if you would be so kind."

The rat in question struggled harder, but Sirius had a firm hold on the end of the bald tail. For the first time in Sirius' life he saw a quiet yet demented look flash across Remus' face, much like that of the werewolf when it smelled flesh. "Yes, we have a couple of questions to ask you. About James, Lily and Voldemort."

Bill Weasley took that moment to make his exit. He wasn't sure what was going on, or why those two men were talking to a rat as if it could understand, but since they didn't seem to notice him, he was leaving. It wasn't until he got to the end of the hall that he turned to look back, but the two men and rat were gone. With a confused expression making his eyebrows wrinkle, he turned to walk down the stairs and slammed straight into the wall. "Bloody hell, it isn't my day."

Alone with his former best friends in a passage that ran between the walls of Gryffindor Tower and Professor Dumbledore's office, Peter Pettigrew was thinking along those same lines. Although perhaps with more colourful language. But no one would know, since he was still in his Animagus form. The three of them exited through the same doorway that Sirius and Remus had used not more than an hour before and went up the stairs to a large oak door. Without so much as a knock, Sirius swung the door open, Peter's tail still clutched tightly between his forefinger and thumb. "Look who we found still lurking outside Gryffindor Tower."

Dumbledore's eyes flashed to the rat that was still fruitlessly struggling and cleared an area on the floor with a wave of his wand. "Put him down there," he instructed, his voice hard. It was this, even more than the hate filled glare of Remus and Sirius, that caused Peter to go still. Small, black, beady eyes stared at the Headmaster and there was a great deal of fear. The power seeming to radiate off the older wizard was strong, and suddenly everyone in that room knew without a shadow of a doubt why Voldemort had feared Dumbledore. Sirius, his wand held and pointed at Peter with his right hand, lowered the rat to the floor. But either Peter was smarter than they gave him credit for, or scared witless, because he didn't try to run.

Albus pointed his wand at the rat and a large flash lit up the room that nearly blinded them all. Belatedly, Sirius looked for Harry, but his thoughts were back on the situation at hand quickly. For within a few seconds, Peter had been forced from his animagus form to that of his human self. Dumbledore looked slightly surprised. "I must say," he began, walking around the desk and talking as if this were merely a surprise visit from an old student. The power still radiated off him in waves, so thick you could feel it in the air. "I was very surprised when Sirius and Remus told me you were an Animagi, Peter."

Peter Pettigrew was a short man. Short and rather plump, especially around the middle. His blonde hair was plastered to his forehead at the moment, sweat rolling off his brow almost constantly. He gave a terrified squeak that sounded much like a rat and watched as Dumbledore leaned against his desk in almost a casual way. Sirius was reminded forcibly of the way Remus acted, and thought he must have picked up a lot of his behaviour from the Headmaster. "I-I'm not sure what you mean, Headmaster."

"He means," Remus provided, the angry and rage filled look still haunting his normally friendly brown eyes, "That no one could believe a talentless thing like you would be able to turn animagus."

"But look what you became," Sirius added, even though he knew that such childish behaviour should be beyond him. "It fits, don't you agree?"

"I-"

Dumbledore raised a hand to silence anything Peter was about to say, and then waved that same hand towards a chair that had appeared behind the shorter man. "Have a seat, Peter. We have much to discuss."

Peter, looking as if he would rather not, but didn't have the nerve to say so, sat down in the seat. For all the world he looked as if he thought the chair arms would bite him. He wiped his hand across his forehead, then wiped his now wet hand on his robes. Obviously he had missed Remus' rage and anger filled expression, because he turned to him. "Moony, what is going on? W-Why are we here?" he asked, his eyes darting around the room, as if in search of an escape.

"Don't you know?" Remus replied, holding his wand up a bit so that it was in clear view of Peter. "I would have thought you did, being here. James and Lily died last night."

"Ja-James? And-and.."

"And Lily, yes," Dumbledore said, cutting Remus off. "Peter, I don't have time for whatever games and lies you want to try out. You are under the arrest for being a Death Eater, and for your involvement in the murders of James and Lily Potter, and the attempted murder of Harry Potter."

"Attempted?" This information seemed to be something he honestly didn't know. The curiosity on Peter's face made Sirius want to strangle him, but he was stopped by the pressure of Remus' hand on his arm. He growled under his breath. "Murder?" Peter added, a bit too late. "I-I don't understand."

"Perhaps this will help," a voice said from the doorway behind them, leading off to what Sirius assumed was Dumbledore's private quarters. From the shadows emerged Severus Snape, holding up for them all to see a small vial of clear liquid. "It's Veritaserum." Snape chuckled coldly, evilly, Sirius and Remus thought. "But I daresay you knew that?"

Peter's eyes had grown as large as saucers. There was amazingly more fear in his eyes now than Sirius had seen in them at the sight of Dumbledore. The threat didn't last long. Peter, shaking almost violently, shook his head and backed into the seat as Snape came closer. "N-n-no Severus-" Peter spat pathetically. "I-no-I'll talk."

It wasn't a pretty sight. Binding ropes sprang out of the chair to keep Peter seated while Severus Snape held a bottle of clear liquid threateningly to the side. Peter's eyes flashed towards him more than once, even as he licked his lips and tried to keep tabs on everyone's wands. Remus would have felt sorry for him, had he not known that if it hadn't been for the actions of this coward before him, Harry would still have had parents this morning. James and Lily would be alive. That thought made him turn a blind eye to any pleading this traitor tried. And he tried it. Oh, did he. He had tried it out on everyone; everyone except Snape. Even Peter didn't seem to think he would get help there. And by the evil gleam in Snape's eyes, Remus couldn't say he blamed him.

Remus turned his attention to Sirius now. His friend looked on the border of insanity himself. His eyes were bloodshot from tiredness and one fist was clenched over the handle of his wand threateningly. Remus knew how badly Sirius was hurting under that shell. He knew, because he felt the same way. And after this was said and done, both he and Sirius would have to face that hurt. But not until then.

"Please tell us everything," Dumbledore commanded Peter, posing a quill on a piece of parchment beside him. Remus vaguely recognised it as a self-taking-notes quill. Lily had owned one, to help when she was taking her N.E.W.T.S. He shook his head to clear it. "Tell us everything from the moment you became a Death Eater."

Peter didn't start immediately. He was shaking under the bonds that held him down, and his watery eyes kept searching for an escape. But after a moment or two he seemed to realise it was a fruitless effort. This was not only Hogwarts, but Dumbledore's office, and there were four wands in hand, all trained upon him. There was no escape. With a final glance at Snape, Peter licked his parched lips. "I was recruited just after we left school. I was in the Order, and Death Eaters were hounding my flat daily. I-I tried to ignore them, but the threats went from being personal, to my mother, and then my friends.

"So about two years ago I gave in. You-Know-Who told me if I did that when the end came, he would make sure my friends lived. I-I gave him enough information to save my neck. It wasn't too long until I realised what I had done. But it was too late. What was there to be gained by opposing him at that point? He would have killed me."

"And you thought we wouldn't save him the trouble?" Sirius growled. Remus hushed him with a stern glance.

Peter seemed reluctant to continue, but with a flash of the bottle Snape held, he did so. "When James and Lily made me the Secret Keeper, I thought it was perfect. He would think Sirius was the Secret Keeper, and-and never suspect me. But he has powers... powers that are horrible, and he knew. And he," Peter gasped, looking positively terrified at the look in Sirius' face. Remus guessed that anyone in their right mind would have been scared of Sirius at this point. He looked like he was about to snap. Gently Remus laid a hand on his friend's arm.

Peter gasped again, like he couldn't get enough air in his lungs. "And then you know the rest," Peter muttered just loud enough to hear. The room was draped in silence, everyone lost in their own thoughts. A clock by the window chimed the hour, and Sirius tightened his grip on his wand and stared at Peter menacingly.

-End Chapter 2.

Wow! Thank you to everyone who reviewed this story so far! I'm glad everyone is enjoying it :)

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If you read, please take a moment to let me know what you thought about it. Just remember: The deadline for complaints was yesterday. :D

Bethany

01.10.13  
(originally posted 04.11.04)


	4. Chapter 3- The Fight for Harry

The Road Not Taken  
By: Bethany  
Rated: PG  
Chapter III: The Fight for Harry

* * *

The ringing silence after his story was thick with emotion; mostly anger. And most of it was coming from Sirius. No one spoke for a few moments, but the silence was broken by a knock on Dumbledore's office door.

"Come in," the Headmaster called.

The oak door opened, revealing Cornelius Fudge, the new Minister for Magic. He didn't look as if he knew exactly what he was doing at the school, but came in the room determinedly nonetheless. "Dumbledore," he greeted, and then paused mid-stride. His eyes circled the room, taking in Peter strapped to a chair; Remus, Sirius and McGonagall all holding their wands out; and finally, Snape, a bottle of Veritaserum in his hand. "I say, what is happening here?"

"You have excellent timing, Cornelius," Albus Dumbledore said instead of answering. "Please, allow me to draw you up a seat."

"No, no thank you," Fudge replied, his voice shaking slightly at the end. "But I would like to know what is happening in this office?"

"Certainly," Dumbledore said, coming around the desk. "Peter Pettigrew was just telling us how he has been a Death Eater for over a year. And how, just last night, he informed Voldemort of the Potter's location."

"Informed?" Fudge repeated, looking slightly bewildered by the facts put before him.

"He was the Potters' Secret Keeper, Minister," Remus spat out, glaring at Peter as he spoke. Peter seemed to flinch back in his seat and shrink even more under the gaze, if possible.

"Oh dear." Fudge looked like he could really use the seat Dumbledore had offered him earlier. He regained himself, if only slightly. "Well, we should bring him in for official questioning before putting him in Azkaban-"

"To await his trial?" Dumbledore inserted lightly, though he seemed to be putting words in Fudge's mouth for him.

"Yes, yes, of course," Fudge nodded. "And what is this I hear of the child? Howard, is it?"

"Harry," Sirius supplied, making Fudge jump slightly. It could be a bit frightening; Sirius made for a rather intimidating wizard when angry. "James and Lily's son is called Harry."

Fudge looked at Sirius like he had never seen the wizard properly before, and then blinked. "Yes, Harry is what I meant." He turned back to Dumbledore, his posture a bit more stiff and confident than before. "As I say, what is this of a child surviving the Killing Curse? How can that be? Where is the child now?"

"He is safe," Dumbledore answered vaguely. "As for why, I'm not sure I can say. For whatever reason, the curse simply bounced off Harry and seems to have rebounded on its caster. Though, I don't believe Voldemort is gone for good, by any means. But he is gone, for now."

"Do you know what kind of zoo it is out there?" Fudge said suddenly, as if picking up a line of conversation they had been having earlier. "The Daily Prophet is hounding the Ministry wanting information we don't have. Death Eaters are running amuck, without a leader they are just causing havoc. We have a lot to sort out." Then, as quickly as he changed tack, he came full circle again. "And who has legal guardianship over the child? Who is the next of kin?"

"His godfather," Dumbledore replied calmly.

"And who is that?" Fudge asked, a silly smile on his face.

"I am," Sirius replied, again making the Minister jump. He spun around, staring at Sirius in a way that suggested he had completely blocked out the fact that Sirius was there.

"You?" he asked blankly, looking around as if this were merely a joke. "You are barely out of school, aren't you? In first year Auror training, I believe?"

"I am," Sirius said, his eyes boring into the Minister. "And I am also the legal guardian of Harry, as stated in James and Lily's will."

"That will be checked into, of course," Fudge said, seeming to finally decide that the best course of action with Sirius was to be firm and commanding. Of course, this didn't sit too well with Sirius. "Until that time, the child will be placed in the care of the next of kin."

"Over my dead body!" Sirius roared, gripping his wand handle as if only the slightest movement would give him incentive enough to use it. This caused two things to happen very quickly. One, Remus jumped up, as if knowing he would have to keep Sirius at bay. And two, Fudge pulled his own wand, looking as if it wouldn't take much for him to use it.

"That will be enough, Mr. Black," Fudge said in a dangerously low voice. "Now, there will be a trial held for Pettigrew, that will determine his guilt or innocence. In the meantime, I want that child taken to a relative's home until official documentation can be brought forth that proves satisfactory that the Potters wanted their son to be with his _godfather_."

Sirius looked ready to explode, and it was only the firm, restraining hand of Remus that stopped him cursing Fudge into the middle of the next year. Dumbledore summoned Sirius and Remus into an adjoining room, asking the Minister if they could be excused for a moment. When the door shut, Dumbledore spun on the two men. "Sirius, for whatever reason, whether personal or political, Fudge doesn't want you to have custody of Harry. If you want to remain his guardian after this is said and done, I suggest you stop trying to pull your wand on him."

"I don't care what he wants, this isn't about him! It's about James and Lily, and what they wanted to happen to their son!" Sirius roared, eyes blazing.

"Sirius, calm down," Remus warned in a tone that suggested he not argue. Sirius had a temper on him that was as destructive as a hurricane; Remus had a werewolf's temper that could rival Sirius' any day. And Sirius knew it. Remus turned to the Headmaster and said, in a deceptively calm voice, "What do we have to do to make sure Harry doesn't go to Lily's sister?"

"I'm afraid there is nothing we can do at this moment," Dumbledore replied. "Even though he generally listens to me, Fudge is the Minister and our laws state that if a child is orphaned, he or she goes to the next of kin until legal documentation can be brought forth. If I had to guess as to why he doesn't want you to have Harry, Sirius, I would say because of what Harry is likely to become."

"He is a very famous wizard at this moment, and will most likely be so for the rest of his life. And that means that the _Daily Prophet_would have a heyday with the fact that you are raising him."

"I don't care," Sirius replied, as if he were being questioned about his motives. "I can protect Harry from all of that."

"I do not doubt it," Dumbledore replied, smiling kindly. "I'm not against you here, Sirius. But you are going to have to prove to the Ministry that you are capable of raising a child."

"James and Lily appointed me guardian-"

"James and Lily didn't expect their son to rid the world of the most powerful dark lord in centuries, either. That makes this a very different Quidditch game, I'm afraid."

Sirius fumed silently as Dumbledore excused himself and exited back to the main office to speak with Fudge. After the door shut, Sirius started looking around the room wildly. Remus watched, a bit concerned and more than a bit amused. "Sirius, what are you doing?"

"Looking for another way out of this bloody room," Sirius replied, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

"And what then?" Remus asked, no longer amused in the slightest. Sirius looked like a caged animal that was desperate for escape.

"I'm going to take Harry, go to Gringott's, empty my vault, and leave." He stopped mid-stride, turning grave eyes to Remus. "Are you coming or staying?"

Remus' eyes were as round as sickles. "Sirius, you must be joking! You can't take Harry and run." Before Sirius could claim he intended to do just that, Remus rushed on to point out the various problems that would ensue from such an action. "If you disappear, there will be no reason for the Ministry to believe Peter was the Secret Keeper. It will look like you not only killed James and Lily, but kidnapped their son! If Harry has to go to Petunia's for a few days, it will be better in the long run. We have to do this legally!"

Sirius had stopped looking around the room, and was currently checking his robe pockets. Looking as if he hadn't even heard Remus speak, he pulled his wand. "_Accio Marauders Map!_" The parchment came flying out of his inside pocket and into his hand.

"Sirius, are you listening to me?" Remus asked, knowing the answer full well.

"Hearing, yes. Listening, no," Sirius answered, activating the map and searching it for Harry.

"Sirius, you must listen to _reason_!" Remus implored. He felt like pulling out every hair on his (and Sirius', for good measure) head. "You can not leave with Harry. You cannot storm out of here, demanding things left and right. I don't want Harry to go to Lily's sister any more than you do, but if we don't do this by Fudge's rules, you could-"

"He's not here."

The words were said so softly, that had Remus not been standing directly in front of Sirius, he wouldn't have heard them. As it was, the words didn't make sense straight away. Who wasn't here? He was here. Sirius was here, as was Peter, in the next room. But then, as Remus' mind started catching up with what Sirius was doing, rather than arguing why Sirius shouldn't be doing it, he gasped. "Harry?"

"Isn't here," Sirius confirmed. Remus had never truly been scared of Sirius. Others had, and with good reason. But Remus knew the man underneath had a heart of gold. Knowing Sirius meant that his looks of loathing, anger and so on rolled off Remus' back so much as a drop of water. However, at this moment, Sirius looked scary. And it was within this second that Remus understood what made him the top Auror in his class. After a highly colourful string of profanity came tumbling out of Sirius' mouth, the black haired Marauder shoved past Remus and slammed the door open into the main office of the Headmaster. "Where is Harry?!" It wasn't so much a question as a demand, and Professor McGonagall squeaked in momentary surprise. Remus, praying to whatever Gods may be listening that Sirius wasn't about to do something more stupid and rash than normal, followed after him in stride. "Where is Peter? Where is Fudge? And where is my godson?!"

"Sirius, please calm yourself," Dumbledore said in a pleasant, though oddly firm voice. He came around his desk, pushing his half moon glasses up the bridge of his nose a bit as he went. "Harry has been taken to-"

"Don't say it!" Sirius warned. "You did not allow him-"

"He is on his way to his Aunt and Uncle's, and if you want what is best for him, you'll listen to me." Now Dumbledore didn't sound so pleasant, and even though he wasn't being addressed, Remus shut his mouth meekly and hoped that maybe Sirius would do the same.

"You know that I-"

Remus watched another hope bubble burst before his eyes as Sirius continued as if no one had interrupted him to begin with. Dumbledore looked at Sirius sternly over the top of his glasses. "Pettigrew is on his way to the Ministry, where he will be placed in an anti-transformation cell to await questioning. After which he will be moved to Azkaban to await trial. Harry will _remain in the care of his Aunt_until your custody hearing is complete."

"My what?" Sirius asked, momentarily distracted.

Dumbledore leaned against his desk, and now that he had Sirius' undivided attention, relaxed a bit. "First thing tomorrow morning you will need to go to James and Lily's vault and retrieve their official documents. Then I suggest that you find a place to live that is very, very well warded. I don't need to stress to you the importance of being able to protect Harry. I'm sure you know. I'm just as positive that Fudge will be making sure that you have a home that is heavily guarded."

Sirius opened his mouth as if to reply, retort or perhaps swear a bit more colourfully than earlier, but Remus was prepared. And though it had been years (ok, not _that_many years, Remus amended) since the Marauders had hexed each other, he deemed it was high time.

"_Silencio_!"

* * *

Sirius stood in the middle of a clearing and blinked up at the bright sun. Trees surrounded the clearing in every direction, and just off to the east the sounds of water running through a brook could barely be heard over the rustle of the wind. For early November it wasn't exactly cold, especially with the illusion the sun made by shining down so brightly. It would be a good day for Quidditch, a small voice in the back of Sirius' mind whispered. A very good day. Only he wasn't here to play Quidditch. He had work to do. And judging by the fact that he could still see Remus meant he had a lot more work to do.

"Lily could have done this in no time," Sirius muttered. The thought hurt. Badly. Just four days ago Sirius would have never imagined himself standing here, trying to ward up Remus' house so tightly that even a beetle couldn't get through without setting off alarms and being burnt to a crisp. Because four days ago Harry's parents had been alive to protect him. Forty-eight hours ago Sirius' biggest worry had been if Peter was ok.

Now he hoped Peter wasn't ok. He hoped that damned rat was in Azkaban, being tortured to death for all he had done.

But there was no time for such wonderful daydreams. He had to finish up here and get to Gringott's before nightfall. Tomorrow was the big day. Tomorrow he would go to the Ministry and face a council and try to convince them that he and a registered werewolf could properly raise a child. And not just any child. But The Boy Who Lived. Sirius hated the very sound of that name. Harry was only a year old, he had no idea what had happened. And then the thought of Harry in Petunia's care was enough to make Sirius mad enough to break something. First he loses his parents, and the Ministry's brilliant idea after that is to give him to people who, whilst being related to him, were complete strangers? The poor child must be terrified.

But that would all end tomorrow, one way or another. Remus and Sirius had talked about many things in the past few days. They had discussed first what they would do about living arrangements. Sirius had a flat, but he needed some place away from the prying eyes of reporters. Especially since only four days had passed since James and Lily's death and already the Daily Prophet was badgering both Remus and Sirius. They could use Sirius' childhood home, if they could find a way to satisfactorily kill his mother. But since that wasn't truly an option, Sirius had started to look for a place, but didn't make it very far when he concluded that he needn't do that. Remus already owned one. That had been another long discussion (or argument, depends on how one looked at it) about keeping Harry safe from the werewolf. In the end Sirius got his way when he decided that they would build a place out in the woods, under ground, that would serve as a place for Remus to stay. And he would take Wolfsbane potion. That way Harry was doubly safe.

The last discussion, that very morning, had been one both Remus and Sirius knew they would have, but had been avoiding it all the same. What would happen if for some reason the Ministry decided that Sirius couldn't have Harry? And after a very heated debate, Remus and Sirius agreed. If the ruling wasn't in their favour, they would take Harry and do as Sirius had wanted the first day. Run.

"_Imperturbatus_."

"That's an odd choice of spell, isn't it?" Remus asked, coming up beside Sirius, his wand in hand. Their plan was to ask Dumbledore to come to the cottage after they were done with their spells. If Dumbledore could get through, then they had a lot of work left to do.

"Seemed like a good one," Sirius muttered. He scratched the back of his head and popped his neck. "Are you finished with the map?"

Remus searched his pockets for a moment before producing a piece of parchment. He unfolded it, smoothed out the wrinkles and handed it to Sirius. For a moment the dark haired Marauder stared at the blank piece of parchment, a look that Remus couldn't quite place on the other wizard's features. It was a cross between amused and very, very sad. Then he bought his wand up, touched the parchment and declared: "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

At once green ink appeared, zigzagging across, down and up to form words. Sirius chuckled, despite himself. "Mr. Moony would like to announce his astonishment that one would think we'd use the same password on two different maps." Sirius shook his head. He knew the password, but wanted to test it. No one but himself, Remus and Dumbledore would be able to access this map, and that's the way he wanted to keep it. "I swear that I am using this map for the sole purpose of protecting Prong's son, Harry James Potter." Sirius touched his wand down again, but this time lines started spreading out from the tip, stretching to all ends of the parchment; showing trees, the house, every room in the house, and the gardens. Everything within a square mile of the cottage showed on this map. Including every animal.

And then, at the top of the parchment, words began to appear and Sirius felt like someone had punched him in the stomach.

_Messers Moony and Padfoot  
In honour of Prongs  
proudly present  
The Canis Casa Map_

When Sirius didn't speak for a moment, Remus cleared his throat a bit and looked down at the map. "It's voice activated," he explained. "And some of the spells are a bit more complicated than on the Marauder's Map. Granted, we were in the sixth year, we were clever just to make the first map." Remus touched his wand down on the parchment, and Sirius, still silent, watched. "Sirius Black," Remus said. The map suddenly zoomed in on the front garden, enlarging the area until they could clearly see two figures standing roughly 100 yards from the porch. "When you aren't looking for just one person, it shows the entire area."

Sirius still said nothing, only stared at the map. Or, rather, the map's heading. Remus, eager to fill the nasty silence, began walking around the outer brim of the ward they had constructed just that morning. "You know that Dumbledore will knock this down without any problem, right?" Remus asked, glancing over his shoulder at Sirius.

"Isn't that the idea?" Sirius muttered, clearing the map and pocketing it. He also pocketed his wand and strode up on the porch and through the front door. "I need to head to Gringott's. Are you coming?"

Remus sighed, looked around at the seemingly empty garden, and nodded. "Yes."

Neither Sirius nor Remus wanted to be in Diagon Alley this evening. Especially the day before Sirius' custody hearing for Harry. The entire wizarding world was in uproar anyway. Death Eaters were being brought in to the Ministry by Hit Wizards, half were claiming to be under the Imperious curse and the other half was swearing revenge for their master. The newspapers were having a field day with everything going on, and yet with all the bigger stories about how famous families were being tried as Death Eaters, Sirius Black still managed to make it to the front page of the _Daily Prophet_as the dark child of the Blacks wanting to raise The Boy Who Lived.

"Explain to me how it is that I'm one of the few Black children that didn't become a Death Eater and they try to make me out to be the bad person?" Sirius muttered darkly, crushing up a copy of _The Daily Prophet_he had just picked up off a table in the Leaky Cauldron. The bartender looked as if he wanted to say something to Sirius about destroying the paper, but lacked the actual courage to do so. Sirius and Remus headed to the back of the pub and to the brick wall that served as an entrance to Diagon Alley. Taking a deep breath to prepare himself, Sirius tapped his wand on the wall and waited.

Not to be disappointed, as they made their way towards the bank, many wizards and witches stopped, pointed, and then began talking in low voices to one another as they made their way through. Pictures of Sirius blinked slowly back from the front of _Daily Prophets_on the stands in front of shops, and in the hands of people standing everywhere. Sirius ignored them and continued on. Remus, of course, showed no one how much he was bothered by anything going on. They walked into the bank, past a goblin and up to the high counters. Sirius produced a key that James and Lily had had made for him only a few short months ago. If only they had known then what they knew now.

The goblin took them to James and Lily's vault and Sirius stepped in, an odd thickening in his throat.

For nearly six months Lily had been storing pictures, trinkets and whatnot in their vault. It was almost as if she knew that their home would be destroyed and she wanted Harry to have something to remember them by. Harry's first toy broom was laid against a box labelled "Quidditch". Sirius, distracted from his reason for being here, walked over and opened the box. Inside lay James' Gryffindor Quidditch robes and a trophy the entire team had won in their seventh year when they won the House Quidditch Cup. Sirius had one identical to it, only his said "Sirius Black - Beater" where James said "James Potter - Chaser". Under the robes was a worn out snitch that James had nicked in their fifth year. There was pictures of the team together, celebrating their wins. Everyone looked so happy.

Sirius closed the box and opened the one next to it; "Harry's Things". Inside was letters, pictures, Harry's first shoes and the outfit they brought him home from the hospital in. Then there was his baby album, still intact with a smiling and moving picture of Harry, James and Lily on the first page. Lily's handwriting was everywhere, documenting Harry's first smile, his first trip, his first tooth, his first word. Their love for their son was written on these pages in slightly wiggly words and pictures. The only thing their child had left of the parents that had loved him more than their own lives.

Sirius hadn't realized he was crying until the first tear fell on the baby album. Closing his eyes against them, he wiped the back of his hand across his face and stood up. He would bring Harry here, when he was old enough, and try his best to explain something words couldn't describe. How wonderful his parents were.

"Sirius? Did you find it?"

Sirius turned his back to where Remus was standing in the doorway, hurried over to a charmed box laying in the far left corner of the vault and laid his hand flat down on the top. "Sirius Black." He waited until the warm sensation had eased, and picked the box up. Lily, being one of the best person in Charms Sirius knew, had placed a few more charms on this box, even though it was in a Gringott's vault. If anyone besides Sirius, or Harry, tried to pick that box up it would throw some pretty nasty curses at them. "Got it," Sirius replied and stepped out of the vault.

* * *

Fifth November, 1981 dawned cold, rainy and not at all like the previous day when the sun had been beating down. Sirius sat at the table in the kitchen of Canis Casa and drummed his fingers against the wood. There was a cold cup of coffee in one hand that Sirius hadn't even taken the first sip of. He didn't need caffeine to keep him awake this morning. He had been awake all night. Across from him, with a cold cup of untouched tea in his hand, was Remus, staring ahead unblinking.

"I will be there during the entire process," a deep, soothing voice said. Albus Dumbledore sat on the third side of the table, drinking hot tea and acting for all the world as if they were trying out for a Quidditch team, not gaining custody of The Boy Who Lived. Dumbledore didn't know of the bags Sirius and Remus had packed. Didn't know that if the Ministry ruled against Sirius' guardianship that they planned to take Harry anyway and run. Or, at least, the two men didn't _think_Dumbledore knew. One could never be sure what the Headmaster knew and what he didn't.

Albus took a sip of his tea and sat it back down on the table gently. Sirius suddenly stood and began pacing back and forth inside the small kitchen, running his hand through his hair. Albus took another sip. "They will ask you a lot of questions, some of them may be hard. Just stick to the facts, I'm not sure emotion will get you anywhere. But anger will definitely get you nowhere. These wizards work with this situation on a daily basis, and if you get cross, they will, too."

Sirius continued to pace, saying nothing. He threw an occasional look towards the hall cupboard where they had stashed their bags, but made a mental note to not look like he was guilty about anything. Years of practice in school should have made that knack second nature, but he didn't want to take chances today. He turned on his heel and made to walk back across the hardwood floor when suddenly Remus stood. "It's time."

The flash of various cameras was making Sirius' head pound unpleasantly. Sirius, Remus and Dumbledore quickly crossed the long hall away from the many fireplaces that wizards were Flooing in and out of. The Atrium in the Ministry for Magic was jammed with every reporter this side of Japan, each of them screaming out questions that Dumbledore had already warned both Sirius and Remus not to answer. They finally made it to the end of the hall, past the fountain and came to a stop in front of a set of golden gates. Each of them gave their wands to the wizard at the security desk and waited while they were weighed and checked in.

"Mr. Black, what do you plan to do if you don't gain custody of Harry Potter?"

"Mr. Lupin, how close were you to James and Lily Potter? Were you close to Peter Pettigrew?"

"Sirius, do you mind answering just a few questions for an old school friend?"

Sirius, momentarily distracted by the fact that whoever was speaking hadn't yelled "Mr. Black" (which made him feel terribly old, for some reason) turned to see a tall, slim witch with long finger nails and horn rimmed shaped glasses. She smiled toothily at him. "Rita Skeeter," Sirius muttered. "Exactly when was we friends?"

"Sirius, I can't believe you don't remember," Rita said silkily.

"I remember pranking you a few good times, if that's what you mean."

"Sirius," Remus warned, taking his wand back from the wizard behind the desk. He nodded towards Rita. "Let's go."

"Gladly," Sirius replied, ignoring Rita as she yelled another question at him and took his wand. He pocketed it and followed Remus and Dumbledore further into the Ministry, leaving the screams of reporters and the flash of cameras behind the gates. With each step he felt like his heart was pounding loud enough that everyone in the Ministry could hear it. Dumbledore led them through a long hall that ended in a set of lifts.

As they waited for the lift, a short portly wizard in a black top hat glanced back at Sirius and Remus once or twice, then smiled toothily at Dumbledore. "Hello Headmaster. Fancy seeing you at the Ministry today."

"Hello Clifford," Dumbledore replied, smiling happily at the wizard. "How are things?"

"Oh, you know," Clifford said, holding up a stack of parchment and rolling his eyes. "A bloke down in Kent went and got himself in trouble with a niffler. I've been trying to sort it out for days. I just don't understand what is so wrong with nice, normal animals."

"Seems like you'd be out of a job if people didn't insist on breaking laws with illegal animals," Remus insert politely just as the lift doors opened. A few wizards came out, each of them smiling or saying hello to Dumbledore as they passed. Above their heads flying pieces of parchment that zoomed into the lift as the doors opened nearly crashed into pieces that were on their way out. But this didn't surprise either Sirius or Remus, both of them being familiar with the Ministry. Sirius because he worked there and Remus because he had recently had to pay a visit to the Werewolf Registration office.

The doors to the lift shut and Sirius let out a breath of relief. At least no one had crowded in with them. The last thing he wanted was to answer more questions about the hearing today. It was bad enough that he had taken time off work to prepare Remus' home with wards, charms, and the like. And even now he wasn't sure if he planned on going back to work after he got Harry.

"Level Two; Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

It seemed to take forever. But at the same time, before they knew it the announcement was "Level Nine; Department of Mysteries. Court Room Ten." The three of them filed out and descended a set of stairs, past the Department of Mysteries and further down into the Ministry.

The courtroom was located on the bottom most floor of the Ministry, and there wasn't a lift that actually went to the floor. The long hall loomed darkly before them. Sirius followed Albus Dumbledore and Remus quietly, wondering why someone hadn't thought to light the torches. The pep talk Remus had given him last night (or was it this morning? Time was running together...) kept repeating in his mind. _Stay calm. Mouthing off will not impress anyone. Keep to the facts. They won't care about your view of things. Keep in mind that Harry's fate is on the line._The last part Remus hadn't needed to say. Sirius was acutely aware of that fact, thank you very much.

They stopped in front of a large wooden door and Sirius waited for Dumbledore to give them one last speech. But it seemed the Headmaster had said all he was going to. He pushed the door open and the three of them stepped in.

The courtroom was a large circular room with cathedral style benches that rose up so that all its occupants could see the small stage-like platform with a single chair sitting on it. Sirius knew from attending Auror trials that the single seat had chains on it that would bind its occupant down. But that was for criminals, and he was only here for a custody hearing that it appeared the entire Wizengamot had turned out for. That puzzled him, even though Dumbledore had warned them it may happen. Fudge wasn't happy with being here and it was clear by the look on his face he expected this to be short and in his favour.

"If we can begin," Fudge said, clearing his throat afterwards. The witches and wizards sitting on either side of him, their faces in the dark shadows stopped talking almost instantly. Dumbledore drew up a chair for himself and Remus just to the right, leaving Sirius to perch on the edge of the chained chair.

A wizard at the end of the bench that seated the Minister stood and pulled a piece of parchment up. "We are here, the 5th day of November, 1981 at 9am for the custody hearing in regards to one, Harry James Potter, child, to Sirius Auva Black. Present in front of the Wizengamot this morning is the applicant, Sirius Auva Black, witness to character on behalf of the applicant, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore and Remus John Lupin."

Sirius scowled to himself. Did they have to mention his middle name? Damn his mother for one more thing. Afraid that he might make a face at the thought, Sirius forced his face into a neutral mask and stared ahead.

"Now, then, Mr. Black. You have come before us to gain custody of the child, Harry James Potter, saying that you were named his appointed guardian in the case of his parents' deaths," Minister Fudge said this all matter of factly, as if waiting for someone to jump up and argue with him over it. "You wish to remove the child from his current location in the care of Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Dursley, the child's aunt and uncle. And we assume you have brought forth substantial evidence to prove that you are legally, and personally, capable of such an action."

But this Sirius was prepared for. He hadn't been friends with Remus all his life and not picked up a few tips on how to get what you wanted, or sound good in your argument. And this smooth talker had gotten himself out of a few good jams, as well. Clearing his throat, Sirius nodded. "I have brought with me legal documentation signed, dated and sealed by James and Lily Potter stating as such. I also have legal documentation naming myself godfather to Harry." Sirius surprised even himself with how strong and calm his voice carried.

Fudge motioned for the wizard who had read the court proceedings to come over and retrieve the parchment. He rushed forward, took the documents and handed them to Fudge. The room's silence was only broken by the shuffling of parchment as it was passed among the Wizengamot to examine. After what seemed an eternity Fudge again addressed Sirius. "Continue."

Sirius wanted badly to glance at Remus, looking for a sign of what to say next. All the facts that Remus had pulled out of books were completely gone now. All he knew was that he was standing in front of a room of witches and wizards that would decide, not if he would get Harry (for he planned to do that, anyway) but if he was going to be on the run from the Ministry for it. He managed not to look to Remus or Dumbledore. "Minister, in the best interest of Harry, I feel he should be placed in my care. His aunt and uncle do not understand our way of life and will, in turn, never understand Harry. Petunia Dursley and Lily Potter hadn't spoken in well over five years because of Mrs. Dursley's prejudice against wizards and magic. They may resent the child for something he cannot control. I've known Harry since the day he was born, I have been around him all his life. He has just lost his parents, does he need to loose everything and everyone he's known? Including his way of life?" Against his will, Sirius knew he probably sounded like he was begging. And Remus would give him a telling off for it later. At the moment he didn't care.

Fudge paused, as if waiting for Sirius to continue. But he had nothing more to say. To the right, Dumbledore stood. "I would also like to submit for the record a statement from Mr. and Mrs. Dursley." The wizard at the side jumped to life again and rushed forward to take the paper to Fudge. "It states, and I do believe I'm quoting, "We do not wish in any way to be concerned with the upbringing of the child in question, Harry James Potter." "

Fudge had the decency to look shocked, even though he had to already know he had placed Harry with people who didn't want him. The witches and wizards behind and around him began muttering to their neighbours as they read the statement. Dumbledore, looking neither apprehensive nor delighted at the reaction, once more sat down and crossed his legs. Sirius stole a look his direction and noticed Remus was studying the members of the Wizengamot intently, most likely using his advanced werewolf hearing to listen to them talk. Sirius wished he could do that; the waiting was killing him.

Finally the room quieted and Fudge once more began speaking: "And of the safety of the home in which, should you gain custody of the child, you would be raising him in?"

Dumbledore once more got to his feet. "Both Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin have addressed his problem and have warded up the home so that no one, not even myself, could access it. I give my word, the house is completely safe for the child."

"Lupin?" a high pitched voice said suddenly from the shadows just right of Fudge. "Remus Lupin?" the voice continued. Sirius squinted as a woman leaned forward, her small eyes staring intently at Remus. Sirius instantly recognized the woman as Dolores Umbridge, and knew at once that this wasn't a good sign. He had seen her enough, and heard enough stories in his office at the Ministry to know that she detested all non-human magical creatures. Especially werewolves. He felt his heart beat quicken as she pushed her horn-rimmed glasses up her nose. "I do believe, Mr. Lupin, that you are a werewolf, are you not?"

There was several audible gasps from the wizards surrounding Fudge, and some of them peered forward for a closer look. Sirius fought the urge to curse all of them into next week. They were being bloody stupid! He opened his mouth to say as much, but was cut off by Remus' voice carrying across the room. "Yes, I am. And I assure you, this has been taken into consideration. My condition will pose no harm to the boy."

"How so?" Umbridge squeaked.

"The day of the full moon I will leave the house and not return until the next day. Sirius and I have made arrangements for me to stay at a town one hundred miles north of our home, where I will take wolfsbane potion and sleep off the effects of the full moon." Remus said all of this with a calm exterior, but Sirius was raging. He wanted to scream at them for only looking at the werewolf, and not realizing that he was a human for the other 29 days of the month.

"Well, that said," Fudge suddenly announced, looking extremely pleased with himself. "A show of hands, please, of all those in favour of giving custody of The Boy Who Lived to Sirius Black."

-End Chapter 3.  
If you read, please review. If you review, please note that all deadlines for complaints was yesterday! If you are inclined, feel free to join us on the discussion forum bethany212 dot proboards dot com. We are also on facebook, Lily Evans; A History is the name of the group.

Bethany  
01.10.13

(originally posted 04.22.04)


	5. Epilogue- One Life

The Road Not Taken  
By: Bethany  
Rated: PG  
Epilogue - One Life

* * *

File Number: _81-1815_

IN RE: GUARDIANSHIP OF  
HARRY JAMES POTTER, a minor

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

WHERE AS, SIRIUS AUVA BLACK has been appointed  
guardian of the person HARRY JAMES POTTER , a minor,  
incompetent, and has taken the prescribed oath and performed  
all other acts to qualify as such guardian:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, CORNELIUS O. FUDGE , Minister of  
Magic, do hereby declare SIRIUS AUVA BLACK duly qualified  
under the laws of this Ministry to act as the guardian of the person  
HARRY JAMES POTTER , incompetent, with full power to have  
the care, custody and control of said incompetent, to administer  
the estate of said incompetent according to law, and to take  
possession of and to hold, for the benefit of said incompetent, all  
of the property of said incompetent and of the rents, income,  
issues, and profits from it.

WITNESS my hand and the seal of this Ministry on this 5th day  
of November, 1981.

Signed:  
Cornelius O. Fudge  
Minister of Magic

There was something decidedly evil about this neighbourhood, Sirius Black decided as he made his way down Privet Drive past one identical house after another. Every lawn was as green as a shamrock in Ireland, every flower bed pruned so that no weed or dead flower was present. The entire street seemed like a painting, not to be touched or disturbed. But wrecking havoc was a specialty of Sirius Black's, as a matter of fact, and he didn't rightly care what kind of reception he received at number four. He wouldn't be staying long, and it wouldn't take too much lip for him to turn the entire family into frogs.

Striding at his pace, to the left, was his best friend. His only friend, if truth be known. His face was set in steely determination. He wanted to get Harry out of the home of Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Dursley as badly as Sirius did.

A sour, tall and bony girl, it was amazing that Petunia and Lily were even related. Lily Potter was, in Sirius' humble opinion, one of the prettiest witches he had gone to school with. But related they were. The one and only time Sirius had had to be in Petunia's presence was at Lily and James' wedding. She had shown up just long enough to throw the invitation at her sister, and leave. Sirius could remember it so well, James had pulled his wand but hadn't been nearly as fast as his wife. Petunia had hit the ground, covered in boils and Lily, looking for all the world as if she didn't care, turned back and kissed her new husband full on the lips. Sirius, Remus and Peter had hooted and yelled cat calls to the uncaring couple as Petunia was escorted away very unwillingly.

Now he would see her for the second time. He wasn't any happier about this time than the last, though he doubted this time he would get to see her ugly horse faced covered in boils. Pity.

Sirius and Remus stopped in front of the oak door to number four and Sirius knocked. For a long moment nothing was heard except a low rumble of thunder in the distance. Sirius looked up at the increasingly dark clouds with a small wrinkle of annoyance on his forehead. "Damn," he muttered. "Looks like it's going to rain before we get out of here."

Remus said nothing because at that moment the door in front of them swung open and a man who could only be Vernon Dursley filled up the entire doorframe, and then some. Sirius tried his best not to snort out some laughter. He had wondered what kind of man had been desperate enough to marry Petunia Evans. Now he had his answer. "We're here to collect Harry," Remus said when Sirius said nothing. Remus knew Sirius was trying hard not to laugh, he knew that look anywhere.

"The boy is in the living room. Touch nothing," he warned. Sirius rolled his eyes, brushed past Vernon (making sure his robes touched Vernon's arm) and went into the house. Remus followed, and Vernon, checking both directions of the street to be sure no one was watching, shut the door behind them.

Sirius' eyes scanned the living room and found Harry easily enough. He was sitting in the corner of a broken playpen that had been fixed with sellotape, but was still falling apart, with nothing but the blue blanket Sirius had wrapped him in the last he saw him. Immediately he approached his godchild, but when Harry's vivid green eyes darted up and saw someone approaching him, he cowered back. Sirius spun around, his wand in his hand so quickly that no one had actually seen him grab for it. Remus put a calming hand on his friend's forearm and looked him directly in the eyes. Brown eyes meet blue and clashed for a moment before Remus finally spoke; "There is no need to frighten Harry. We are here to take him home."

Sirius muttered something unrecognizable under his breath and turned around again, forcing the anger from his eyes. What had happened to the happy, outgoing child he had known not two weeks before? What had Petunia done to him to make him so timid so quickly? Sirius shook his questions from his mind, they would only serve to give the Dursley's some well deserved curses. Slowly he bent down on one knee in front of the broken playpen and reached his hand towards his godchild. "Harry," he said softly, gaining the child's attention. "Hey kiddo, don't you remember me? It's Padfoot."

Harry's remarkable green eyes studied Sirius like one would a rabid animal and clutched his blanket tighter in his small fist. Vernon made a small sound of impatience behind them, and Harry turned his face towards his uncle and shivered. Sirius knew his blood pressure was climbing steadily and any second he would let loose a string of curses on the Dursley house hold that he might not even find suitable for a Death Eater. Take a deep breath, he told himself. I can't frighten Harry.

"Come on kiddo, we've come to take you home. Look, I have Moony with me," Sirius said, indicating Remus who was standing just behind him. "We're going to go home."

"Home," Harry repeated, not as a question but more like a statement. A word that sounded unfamiliar to him. But what he said next made Sirius want to tear down to Azkaban and wring Peter's neck with his two bare hands. "Mummy home?" Harry asked.

Sirius gnawed on his bottom lip for a minute. "No Harry. You're Mum and Dad are gone." Harry's eyes filled at once with tears and Sirius, unable to stand the tension anymore, reached forward and scooped Harry up in his arms. But Harry didn't cry, only laid his head on Sirius' broad shoulder and sniffled. Sirius pulled the blue blanket up around Harry's body and turned to leave. Remus followed him out, past Vernon who was standing protectively in front of his wife and what looked like a baby whale in her arms.

Sirius didn't look back, and didn't say a word for fear of what might come tumbling out of his mouth if he tried. Remus looked back at what might have been Harry's home and wrinkled his nose in distaste. "Good riddance," he said and slammed the front door.

If there was one damned reporter there were ten in every corner, dark alley and available space between here and the sea, Sirius decided. They had left Privet Drive and tried to board the Knight Bus, which was currently home to about five reporters, each with cameras that were flashing like crazy as Remus and Sirius turned and decided that perhaps that wasn't the best way to travel. It seemed that somehow the press had gotten wind of Harry's removal from Privet Drive despite Dumbledore's press release that it wouldn't happen for another week. Reporters were lurking everywhere, praying for a glimpse of him. Or, more importantly, his lightening bolt shaped scar. Sirius heard the tell tale _BANG!_that announced the Knight Bus was back and he scowled. How he would love to turn into his dog counterpart and put the fear of God in every wizard and witch on that bus. Instead he and Remus cut through an alleyway and wondered where to head to next when suddenly a short older woman came out of her home and motioned them forward. Thinking it might be another reporter, a bit smarter than the rest, but a reporter none the less, Sirius turned heel.

"Young Sirius Black, you'd better get over here in a hurry!" the voice commanded.

Sirius stopped, but before he could connect the voice and the identity, Remus said; "Arabella?"

"No time to talk, get in here!" she motioned for them to follow her into a house. They did so and she slammed the door just as the flash of a camera nearly blinded them. "I can't believe two smart boys like yourselves wouldn't think of an escape route!" the old woman lectured, wagging her finger in Sirius' face. "The Knight Bus, indeed!"

"The press wasn't supposed to know we were collecting him today," Remus pointed out.

"The Daily Prophet can get their hands on more information than a room full of Order members. You and I both know that, Remus, no use in acting like it isn't the truth. Damage has been done now, so let's get you out of here before they knock down my door."

Rolling their eyes a bit at each other, Sirius and Remus followed Arabella Figg into her living room where she pulled down a container of Floo Powder and offered it to each of them. "Be careful," she instructed. "Has that child travelled by Floo?"

"Yes," Sirius replied, not really paying attention to the old woman, even though he was extremely grateful for her help. Remus lit a fire in the hearth and Sirius threw the Floo powder into the flames. He stepped in, nodded farewell to Arabella and called, "Casa Canis!"

Not even a full minute later Sirius stopped in the familiar fireplace of the home he now shared with Remus Lupin and stepped out. Harry looked up from Sirius' shoulder and glanced around the room. "Welcome home, Harry," Sirius said brightly. "Do you want to see your room?"

Harry shook his head and buried it back in the black material of Sirius' robes. Undaunted, Sirius went upstairs and to the second room on the left, pushing the door open. "Look Harry," Sirius instructed, trying to keep his voice happy and light. "It's your very own bedroom. Look, there are some new toys for you to play with."

Reluctantly it seemed, Harry lifted his head off of Sirius' shoulder and glanced around the room. Almost instantly his gaze fell on a picture of James and Lily. "Mummy?" he whispered, reaching towards the picture. He struggled to get out of Sirius' arms and with a heavy sigh the wizard placed him on the floor.

Harry had been an early walker, surprising his mother by taking his first steps when he was only nine months old. Sirius smirked as he remembered James bragging that he was just fulfilling the Potter heritage. Lily had smacked him on the arm, scooped Harry up and proceeded to fawn over him like a dotting mother. Now with six months experience behind him, Harry walked over to the table and picked up the waving picture of his mother and father with toddler sized hands. He looked at it for a long moment, then brought it over to Sirius and handed it to him. "Mummy. Daddy," he said. It was the want of a child, the yearning to see his parents come through the door and scoop him up. He'd never have it again.

Sirius got down on his knees and reached slowly for the picture. "Harry, I wish they were here, too. Let's face it, I'm scared to death of a fifteen month old. I've only changed your diaper a handful of times. But I promise I'll try to be as good as James. I know I'm not your Dad, but I'm going to give it a good shot." He reached over, rubbing his hand across Harry's untidy black hair. He looked so much like James, with Lily's eyes staring back at him with tears. Sirius looked with Harry at the picture of James and Lily and felt his chest tighten. "I miss them, too, kiddo."

Harry tore his gaze away from the picture, looked at Sirius and wrinkled his brow. A small, chubby hand reached towards Sirius' face and patted his cheek. "Paafoot cry?"

Sirius would never understand the bond that would form from this moment on between him and his godson. Would never understand how he could love another human so much. At that moment, though, he felt that at least he was understood. He and Harry both had lost so much. But at least they had each other. And every second of rage and fighting was worth it. Would always be worth it. "Yes Harry," Sirius muttered. With a sob, Sirius found his arms full of toddler as Harry hugged him tightly around the neck. Sirius hugged him back, whispering soothing words in the child's ear.

"Sirius? Sirius, are you up there?" Remus called.

"Yeah!" Sirius yelled back. He stood up, bringing Harry with him and wiping the child's face with the edge of his shirt. "Are you hungry kiddo?" Harry nodded, hugging the picture of James and Lily to his chest. "Then let's go eat, shall we? Moony! We're hungry!"

"Oy! Is that all you think about?" Remus Lupin answered as he headed towards the kitchen. Sirius, carrying Harry, entered the kitchen at that moment and both black haired wizards (old and young) were nodding their heads. Remus threw his hands up in surrender. "I suppose that makes me the cook of the house?"

"By default, my friend. You wouldn't want Harry and I to burn the place down, would you?"

Thousands of miles away from Ottery St. Catchpole, and the home of Remus Lupin, Sirius Black and Harry Potter, in a prison surrounded by the cold sea and terrible soul sucking Dementors, another person was getting his meal. And as the door cracked open to the cell of Peter Pettigrew, convicted of two counts of murder, five counts of high treason, nineteen counts of using an unforgivable, and the overall conviction of being a Death Eater, the house-elf found the cell empty. Further down the hall a small rat scampered through cracks and through halls, towards the outside world.

-The End?

I've had a lot of questions about if this story would continue. And I honestly don't know, that's why there is a question mark at "The End" I'm leaving it open so if I do. I definitely plan on writing a few spin offs, like about Harry's first day of school and Sirius/Remus raising Harry stuff. But other than that? We'll see :)

I hope you enjoyed. And if you are interested, go read my other HP story, _Lily Evans; A History_. It can be found on Schnoogle under Bethany or under BrownB

Hugs,  
Bethany

01.10.13  
(originally posted 05.13.04)


End file.
